Harry Potter, HB P, and the Order of the Shadows
by indogirl7
Summary: HPxYGO Based on the sixth book Slight AU. Spying in Hogwarts isn't that easy... the OotS has spread its wings... the wizarding world is not what it seems, especially the Ministry of Magic...Chpt13!
1. Chapter 1: The Order of the Shadows

**Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows**

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be reprehensive of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any thing of YGO and HP in this fic...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J.K.Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

**Notes on this Fic:** It's my firs fic so plz be nice. For you who haven't read the book I do recommend you stay away if you don't want any Spoilers. REALLY I MEAN IT. This is based on the sixth year and in this fic that "certain somebody" or a few 'somebodies' (is that a word?) will LIVE... In this fic Yugi, Ryou and Malik have done a year of magic in Japan but since they excelled so quickly the school wishes them to transfer to Hogwarts. Seto Kaiba and Mokuba will come in once in a while with other YGO characters. There will be a few OCs later on in the story. This story also takes place over 2 years or so after the Duel of Yugi and Yami. Little Yugi may have won, but Halakti (God of Light) has given Yami a chance to live with Yugi and will diminish the same time as his light (Including the Millennium Puzzle, this applies to other item holders). However Halakti has warned Yugi and co. that another evil will show itself.

**On the Millennium Items and Decks:**

Yugi Muto: Millennium Puzzle (Spellcaster and All-round Deck...This fic also has Yugi's Deck from the Final Duel... many fics hardly ever do so... So in this fic Dark Magician represents Yami Yugi and Silent Magician represents Yugi)

Ryou Bakura: Millennium Ring (Occult/Effect Deck)

Isis Ishtar: Millennium Tauk (Tomb Guardian Deck...I call it that way since I noticed in the comics it's based on guarding tombs)

The two characters are most obvious who will have their Yamis. Yami Yugi has forgiven Bakura and accepted Marik at this point of the story. Isis will still have the Tauk and she does not have a yami. Yami Yugi still has all three God Cards. His real name is not spoken unless he has to or only when it's necessary.

Malik Ishtar: Millennium Eye (Slime and Killer Deck...in the English version is 'Revival Jam' when you translate the comic is slime. I'll stick to slime in this fic.)

Seto Kaiba: Millennium Rod (Power and Deck Destroyer Deck)

The Millennium Rod is back to its destined owner and Seth has 'popped' out to be his yami. For Kaiba he has the 'Blue Eyes Shining Dragon' with him from the movie in his deck. Malik has an accident with his left eye and the Millennium Eye chooses him. Marik is back as his yami (he's good...but still gets into mischief). He has a square patch over his eye (not a pirate one) which is held by elastic strings around his ears to hide his eye.

Yuri Takizawa (OC): Millennium Scales (Holy Deck...mainly consists of monsters of 'Divine' Element and Spellcasters)

Bazil Faried (OC): Millennium Key (Knight Deck)

Minori Lorenzo (OC): Millennium Charm (Dragon/Effect/World Deck)

Okay...these are all new OCs (Since Shadi is dead) as you might notice there is the Millennium Charm (which it takes form as a bracelet), but it is not an 8th M item, but a Seal of the M items. You'll hear more in the story. Minori has her own yami (well I really wouldn't call it that way...but. I don't know Shrugs...if you've got any ideas you're welcome to contribute...) which is Kisara. So you could say the pairings are SetoxMinori and SethxKisara. Yuri also has a Yami named Septi which was supposed to be Yami's future queen but was out of Egypt during the events of Zork. Well there goes another pairing YugixYuri and Yami(Atemu)xSepti. Bazil is the latest descendant of one of the priests during Atemu's time (I think it's the one who holds the Scales but don't remember his name though). You'll see where he goes in later.

**I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:**

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book _-text-_

Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

Sorry about the long notes but I just wanted to make the story slightly clearer for you to read. Thanks.

Enjoy!

_**Chapter 1: The Order of the Shadows**_

-------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_In the Prime Minister's Office_

_11:30 PM Local Time_

--------------------------------------

'But for heaven's sake's you're _wizards_! You can do _magic_! Surely you can sort out - well - _anything_!'

Scrimgeour turned slowly on the spot and exchanged an incredulous look with Fudge, who really did manage a smile this time as he said kindly, "The trouble is the other side can do magic too, Prime Minister."

And with that, the two wizards stepped one after the other into the bright green fire and vanished.

_-Ending of Chpt 1, The Other Minister, Pg.24, British Hard Cover, HP & the H-B P-_

_--------------------------------------_

Prime Minister Mr. Richard Williams rubbed his temples. As if it wasn't enough, more things were happening now in the _'magic world'_ effecting his (non-magical) world and only he knew about it.

Richard went over the situation again. It was most likely he would make a cover story or conspiracy, as most world leaders would do to distract his officials and the public over the recent events. However, there was also an enormous risk of getting caught by the media and worst of all the public would go against him giving his political opponents an advantage to 'give him the boot' out of the government.

Then there was this idea of telling everyone that there was in fact a 'Magic world' full of 'wizards and witches'. But this would have been more of an 'Outrageous' likely thing to do. Most people might think he'd gone 'off his rocker' or perhaps there would be a chance of people believing him. Those who would think their Prime Minster had gone 'whacked' will want him sacked, as for those who do believe will think magic will solve or sort anything just like he had said a few minutes ago. And there was the last bit if he did try to tell everyone, they'd wipe his memory with the 'Memory Charm' of what Fudge had spoken earlier.

If there was an answer Yes (to tell the truth) and No (do a cover story) there was always a 'Maybe'. And Maybe it was better to leave it as it is. Leave them to fix their problems, whatever maybe happening in the so-called 'Ministry of Magic' it had nothing to do with non-magical people. But if weird things kept on happening, most likely his career will take a down turn.

Richard wanted to someone to talk to desperately. Anyone...at least he could trust these secrets for the burden of keeping these _'magical ones'_ might drive him nuts and end up in a psychiatric hospital. As if God himself answered his prayers the telephone suddenly rang.

"Hello, Prime Minister Richard here." he answered.

"Mr. Richard there's call for you, the caller said it he's an old _(o) tomodachi_. Do you know what this means?" his secretary Katrina informed and asked at the same time.

His heart skipped a beat. It had to be _him_. "Alright, put him on the line." he said quickly.

"Are you sure? Surely you should get some rest and it's nearly midni-"

"Yes, just put him on." Richard cut in.

Katrina only shrugged. "Alright then."

"Hello?" the Prime Minster said.

"Hello there my old _(o) tomodachi (friend)_ how are you?"

"Out of the weather, if you look on the newspapers." Richard spoke tiredly.

"Nan desu ka?" (What is it?) The other asked.

"A whole lot of hectic problems." he spoke bitterly.

"Well I just arrived from Japan, come on over if you need someone to talk to." the _other_ offered.

Relief spread through into Richard's entire being. "Thanks, I really owe you one," he said weakly.

"As a payment you helped me a year ago. Well, same place like last time. I'll leave the door open for you." his _'old friend'_ replied.

"Very well, I'll meet you there." Richard agreed and put his telephone down.

He looked at the 'moving' painting was soundlessly asleep on the wall. At least this night he'd get out of office _slightly_ earlier than the past few days.

Richard walked out the door and dismissed his employees who were still working that night and went to the main door on the ground floor. He went into the car and instructed his driver Edward, to the 'same place' he had met his friend about a year ago.

---------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Urban Residence area_

_12:00 AM Local Time_

---------------------------------

He was there just as his watch had told him it was exactly midnight. It was a normal-sized urban house in London very much away from where most government workers lived. Richard opened the door, shut and locked it. Afterwards, he put his suit over the hanger and entered into the well-lit dining room. And there sat his friend...

_Seto Kaiba, the one and only CEO of Kaiba Corp._

Kaiba stood up and shook Richard's hand and offered him a seat. "Red wine? I suggest you take a glass, you look terrible." the CEO suggested.

"Yes...indeed." Richard replied slowly. He took a small wine glass and filled it in with wine.

Richard was greatfull to see his Japanese friend who he had befriended years ago. When Richard was young both his 'real' father and mother had died in a car crash in Japan. Not knowing what to do, the police had put him in the same orphanage where Kaiba was going to be in. None of the officials noticed him there or simply forgot he was there in the orphanage. Not that he minded anyway. But as he grew up there, he soon became a caretaker in the orphanage; most of the children there liked him. It wasn't much of surprise that now he could talk and even read Japanese so fluently. When he was 25, a 7-year-old boy and his younger brother had come to the orphanage. It was Seto and Mokuba. Since he taught English at the orphanage he was amazed that Seto was a natural in learning. The child was a genius.

But then, when the British Ambassador came to the orphanage, the Ambassador was shocked how Richard's face was much like his son who died of a heart cancer just a week ago. He was finally 'adopted' into the Ambassador's family. Most of the children didn't want him to leave, especially the Kaiba brothers. Richard, on that last day had suggested to Seto to never give up learning. And so did Seto reminded that he still had time to go to University in England. Both of them had promised to each other to fulfill their dreams and has kept in touch ever since.

To Seto Kaiba, Richard had been his emotional support during the worst times he had to face his new 'father' of beatings and emotional torture. He was also thankful to Richard to even give motivation to change Kaiba Corp. from a weapons development and research facility, into a company that made amusement parks for children and supported greatly in the United Nations Organization of UNICEF. And just a year ago Richard had helped him by promoting to companies in the UK to invest in Kaiba Corp.

It wasn't much of a surprise why his political opponents wanted him off the Prime Minister seat for he was the youngest one ever to be the top guy. In just two years he eagerly and with the best top grades of his year finished University of Oxford in Political Law, soon at the age of 28 he was the Prime Minister of the UK. It was that first day in office he had met Fudge, seven years ago. (Richard is 35 yrs old now) As for Seto he had expected he would do great things, (which Richard's prediction was right) for he was the youngest CEO of a multi-billionaire company there ever was in the world.

"How's Kaiba Corp.?", the PM of the UK asked.

"Business is 'booming' ", the CEO chuckled. But his blue eyes gazed to Richard...

"Tell me what's going on Richard, you look like you'd need a psychologist. I haven't seen you as worst like this before.", the CEO then said in a more serious tone as he pointed out that in the room there was actually a mirror.

Richard looked into the large mirror that was placed in the dinning room. Some how, he now looked nearly like Fudge had been when he met the ex-PM of the Ministry of Magic that same night.

Richard looked at Seto. He was doing his famous '_Tell-Me-The-Truth-Death-Glare'_ that made him winced slightly in his chair.

"Alright, alright! I'll tell you everything!", Richard gave up miserably. "Where do I start..." he muttered.

"From the _start_." Kaiba said bluntly.

"You wouldn't believe it."

"I'd like to _try_.", said the CEO sternly.

Richard started to tell how on his first day in office had met Fudge, the PM for the Minister of Magic. That 'he' (Fudge) was a wizard and that there was an existence of wizards and witches in this world. He then looked at Kaiba for a sign.

The only things that was shown in those blue eyes were a '_well go on, I'm listening'_ look.

Then he told Seto about the moving painting on the wall, how no matter how he tried to make people get rid of it, the darn painting wouldn't even budge. Then there were things he had heard about a fellow named 'Serious Black' who escaped from a wizard prison, dementors who guarded it, something about 'Hogwarts' and a boy named 'Harry Potter'. He then lastly told Seto about some 'dark lord' call Voldemort, that the wizards were so afraid saying his name they kept saying him as You-Know-Who.

"Seto, if you think this all doesn't make any sense what so ever I'll be on my way to the hospital for the mentally disturbed.", the poor tired PM said weakly.

Seto took a sip of his wine never taking his eyes of the glass. "You can't remove the painting because someone did a Permanent Sticking Charm. It's Sirius Black not Serious, an innocent man who they thought that he was in league with Voldemort. Said that he escaped about 3 years ago form Azkaban and the Dementors who guarded didn't even noticed. Ah...yes, Dementors. Dark creatures that have abilities of sucking the happiness out of you, and if they're eager… can suck your soul from your body." Seto said calmly.

"_And Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one of the best schools of magic there is in 'their' world. Last but not least Harry Potter known as the 'Boy Who Lived' the reason why the dark lord has fallen years ago, the only one who has ever lived getting hit by a killing curse.", he ended his explanation._

Richard gaped at him as if it was really-I-mean-heck 'this world was tiny after all'. If his jawbone weren't there his chin would have most likely crashed through the wooden floor.

"But Seto how on earth do-"

"I'm a wizard," Seto cut him off quickly.

"But surely the Minister would know tha-"

((Scrimgeour seems to have sent Aurors to keep an eye on you)) a voice suddenly made its comment in the room.

Richard gasped nearly stumbled out of his seat in shock. He would have been on the floor if he hadn't held on the table for support. Then his eyes darted at the opposite of the table where a 'translucent' Kaiba was standing. However his eyes were sharper and a shade of darker blue. His hair was also darker in color.

"Who- in what- what's going on?" he stared confused as there were 'two' Kaibas in the room.

"Oh, sorry. I like to introduce you to my 'Yami' or my darker half, Seth.", he said hoping to calm down the shocked PM though he knew it'd make things worse.

(It would've been easier to explain if you didn't show up) Seto growled through their private mind link.

"Darker half?" he slightly cowered.

((Dark yes, but not _naturally_ evil)) Seth tried to explain shrugging off his _hikari's_ (light) statement.

"How many are there?", Seto questioned the former priest ignoring the fact his friend looked as if he was going to collapse at any moment.

((At least five...Though I'm guessing eight at most...Two of them are cats, three are owls and the rest are hidden but the magic signature is there.)) his yami concluded.

"Do they- Do they know that both of you are here?" Richard finally had found his voice.

"Nope, not a single clue. All they see from the outside that I'm not Seto Kaiba but another person. They also see us watching cable TV. I've cloaked the entire area with _Shadow Magic_." The CEO said quietly.

"Y-you c-can do that?" the PM gulped.

"Yes."

Seth kept his eyes towards the window observing the Aurors quietly.

"What is _Shadow Magic_? I never heard it...well...at least from Fudge."

"Only some know such knowledge while even fewer can use it. The Ministry isn't aware that it even exists and can't detect such magic. Richard, it's all right. I came to London to help." Seto was trying to calm his British friend down.

"Help? What? I can't even find an excuse of what broke the bridge that isn't even a decade old, and Fudge told me that a tornado was created by Giants?"

Seto quickly flipped his cell phone and made a fast SMS.

--------------------------

'_The Death Eaters broke the Brockdale Bridge. Needs reconstruction. Are you up to it? If you are, just come on over. Richard's getting 'hectic' every minute. He knows I'm a wizard.' Seto._

_----------------------------------_

"Who are you contacting?" Richard frowned.

"Someone who could help us with that bridge of yours." Seto grinned as he waited for a reply.

Of course, Seth _knew_ whom Seto contacted.

Five minutes later the cell phone beeped and he found a reply.

'_Sure, I love challenges. I'll be right over.' Minori._

"Well then that's settled. My contact should be here round about..."

'Pop!'

...now.", he pointed where the person had arrived.

Then a young girl walked into the room. She was about Seto's age, jet black hair with dark blue eyes and what was most noticeable was that she was wearing a formal business suit.

In a very business-like manner she greeted the confused man, "Hello, ah...you must be Prime Minister Mr. Richard Williams. You've probably know me I'm the Head of the _UDA (Urban Design Architecture)_. Seto gave me information about the Brockdale Bridge." She said while her hand was shaking Richard's.

Of course he knew who she was. The leader of the Urban Design Architecture and who was recruiting young and gifted architects all over the world, Minori Lorenzo. A half Italian and Japanese who specialized buildings such as mega structures, skyscrapers and bridges. But wasn't she working on the new city dome construction in Japan?

"But how did you get here so fast? You're supposed to be in Japan!"

"Magic.", she answered him simply.

"Or more precise Shadow Magic." Seto added.

"What does actually Shadow Magic do?"

"An ability to summon the _Shadows_ and more exactly, _Shadow Creatures_. Though it's even easier to do normal wizarding spells." Minori helped the PM to his chair again whose curiousness was finally, getting over his fear.

"Shadow Creatures?" Richard gasped looking both of them.

"I'll show you."

Seto took out his _Millennium Rod_, soon there was a flash and the back of the room was covered with shadows but soon it took form...

Richard looked at it unbelievingly. It was a real Blue Eyes White Dragon. The symbol KC, he had seen the holograms of Seto's Duel Disc we're impressive. But this was the 'real thing'. Blue Eyes purred against its other master Seth who was stroking it on the head affectionately. Kisara was there too scratching its neck but Richard said nothing for he thought that maybe Minori had a Yami as well.

"So you _could_ help me with the 'magic problem'? The bridge as well?" Richard finally asked his old friend and by the sound of his voice there was relief.

Seto nodded. "But first I would like you to sign a parchment." Shadows immediately swirled on to the desk and form it self into some sort of a contract.

Richard read "Under the Name of the Order of the Shadows?"

"It's an Order for those who could use shadow magic and others whose magic branches were being under-estimated or unknown by the Ministry of Magic. Many who are with us don't want to join the Ministry since they're slow to act or do not to wish to join under the Death Eaters with the dark lord. So the Order acts as an intermedian. And we act on our own and without any interference of the Ministry." Minori gave the details.

"Are you not afraid of traitors?"

"Once a person signs this paper they will have agreed that they will tell none of the Death Eaters or those who work for the Ministry.", the CEO sighed gladly that his friend was in 'better terms'.

"And if they try to?"

"Their memory will be automatically wiped out."

"I see.", the PM went back thinking and analyzing the new offer.

Seto waited patiently giving his friend time to make the final decision and final questions.

"So how do I contact the order?"

"We noticed that wizards use Owls to contact each other but I find it insufficient and it could be intercepted too easily or similar to normal mail." Minori said.

"So what do you suggest?"

"This." Seto Kaiba used his Shadow powers and then appeared a notebook laptop. "This is a laptop I custom made for members of the OotS. It has an Auto-Reparo feature that can fix itself if it is broken when there aren't any people or anyone with a magic signature around. It has a magic cloaking device similar like how I cloaked this house. Only 'you' or our members could see the real messages and news from the OotS, not even the 'painting' in your office will know. What they see are your files are on trading, business and politics. All news and notices will be sent through email. Many wizards don't even know how batteries work and I doubt that they'll even try to use a laptop. Especially the purebloods that are on the dark lord's side, they rely purely on magic. Our strength lies in a mixture of both magic and technology. So have you made your decision yet?"

"I'll take the offer." Richard said determination in his eyes. "If the Ministry of Magic can't protect our people (non-magical) than I will be more willing to join you than be treated by them that I can't do anything."

"A wise decision." Seto agreed. "Very well take this." Seto handed Richard a Duel Monster Card, _Hyoranzu_. "Now, say 'summon Hyoranzu'."

He felt a bit awkward doing this, well since he wasn't a duelist.

"SUMMON HYORANZU!"

The Shadows now formed itself into a crystal dragon beautiful but at the same time deadly. When its transformation was complete, it bowed respectfully at Seto, Seth, Minori, Kisara and even Blue Eyes (being one of the strongest dragons in DM). And soon it faced its 'new master'. Richard was now not afraid but started to have a feeling he admired the crystal dragon. Hyoranzu seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Looks like you two admire one another. He will be your protector and those who are in the government. As for non-magic people, including important buildings throughout the UK, are protected by other shadow creatures. So if any from the dark lord's side wish to destroy them in any way they'll be automatically transported to the Shadow Realm where all Shadow creatures reside and be dealt with. Minori will help you in constructing the new Brockdale bridge and recover the homes were lost in the tornado. And in return you'll give us any information on what Fudge and Scrimgeour have told you. Is this your final decision?"

Richard nodded to that. Now that he can get better information, his reputation can be fixed and protect his people. And most of all, he trusted Seto more than Fudge. His old friend from Japan came a long way to help him and he wouldn't want to reject Seto's generosity.

Seto then instructed Richard, "Read your vow like it says and sign the contract to make it official."

Richard too a deep breath, and vowed:

"_I, Prime Minister Richard Williams, am now a member of the Order of the Shadows. From now and on ward I promise not to tell anyone who works under the 'Dark lord' or 'The Minister of Magic' about the OotS and will always give any information from Ministry to the Order. In return I, my government officials and my people will be protected by any harm from the 'Dark Lord' or his followers." _

Richard signed the paper. Then he looked at the palm of his hand to see a golden eye glowing. And looked at Hyoranzu who had the symbol on its head.

"It's a symbol that you are now _one of us_", Seto said as he too showed his on the palm of his right hand, which was glowing. Soon the symbol disappeared. Both Blue Eyes and Hyoranzu bowed to their respectful masters and dismissed themselves.

"Now, about the bridge. I already have the papers of rebuilding it with me. Sign these, and I'll get started right away." Minori smiled.

Richard took a quick scan and signed. "I will be looking forward to our meeting on the site in a week.", he gave a handshake to Minori.

"So will I. Very well then, nice meeting you Mr. Richard Williams.", she said and vanished with the shadows along with Kisara.

Seto filled both their wine glasses, both of them toasted. Seth couldn't help but chuckled at his Hikari, for he had even persuaded the Prime Minister of the UK to join them.

"Thank you, Seto. Looks like we'll be seeing more of each other, eh?"

"Welcome to the Order of the Shadows my old friend." Seto grinned.

TO BE CONTINUED...

----------------------------------------------------

Woah! Looks like our Prime Minister decides to join the OotS! He was only mentioned in the book once so I decide to fill him in my fic. It's fun thinking how would he feel if we were thrown into the same situation. I thought Seto was going to come in much later but hehe grins...there you go. Yes, Seto admits he's a wizard, but I don't think he'll play a direct part in the wizarding world. Instead he'll be on our side (yep, as a muggle) doing most of the cover stories and even making profit at the same time :)

A pretty long chapter eh? (About 3500 words! Without the author notes!) Sorry, there's not much about Seth, Minori and Kisara yet. It's just the intro. I'll do better in the next chapter! In the next chapter we'll see how the OotS works! So it'll be a while until we get to Hogwarts or even Harry Potter. Reviews and constructive suggestions welcomed!

Update 13/10/2006: All unnecessary italics are fixed.


	2. Chapter 2 : The Gathering Part One

**Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows**

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be representatives of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any thing of YGO and HP in this fic...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J.K.Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

Hey! I'm back! If you did spot grammar mistakes or spelling mistakes in the last chapter (which I did…and there was a LOT) I'm really sorry about it! The spelling and grammar tool went nuts (I don't know why) but I tried my best to write it right. Well no one is perfect…Anyways; I got the tool fixed for this chapter! (THANK GOD). This fic may be a little slow, but it's better than going too fast without any explanation whatsoever…I like it that way…adds a bit more curiosity…

Thank you very much to Lady Laran who first reviewed my very first fic on (bows). I wasn't really expecting being put on alert on my first go. But thanks again!

The Yami and hikari mind link got screwed up (the case didn't show up) when I made them individually, so here (below) is an updated version.

I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book _-text-_

Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

Enjoy!

_**Chapter 2 : The Gathering (Part One)**_

------------------------------

_Somewhere in the UK_

_Near Spinner's End_

_1: 00 AM (Local time)_

------------------------------

Malik waited patiently under the cover of the darkness watching a scrawny fox; there were reporttings that _one_ of the professors who worked at Hogwarts had recently taken up a residence near _Spinner's End_. This was odd given that this place was somewhat 'perfect' to hide dark secrets. At least that's what Malik had heard from the _Order_. He had volunteered that he and his yami Marik kept an eye and search where the professor had lived. But for the last five days, there was no sign where that professor was or even any Death Eaters around the area and a chilly mist just came in. And his yami was getting more impatient.

-((Geez! How much longer do we have to wait!))- His dark growled.

-(As soon we find that professor.)- Malik said dryly.

-((Grrr...I hope this ends soon and it better be good.))-

Malik rolled his eyes. -(_Hopefully_)- he also hoped that his yami didn't went insane first.

_'Pop!'_

_'Pop!'_

-(Looks like our hopes were granted.)-

-((I'll do the following, thank you very much.))- Marik swapped places, changed himself into the shadows of the trees around them, while Malik was watching carefully from his soul room.

Yugi had suggested that the job was perfect for the both of them. Mainly because ever since Minori came with the _Millennium Charm,_ which was the _Seal of the Millennium Items _had unsealed the true extent power of the items, Malik himself had magic. So did everyone else who were in his or her friends and family. Now, as the bearer of the _Millennium Eye_ not only could he read people's mind or make a _shadow game_ but he also had the special ability to turn into a _'shadow'_. Which he was glad, for one of the witches had just killed the scrawny fox he was looking a minute ago.

"_I'm glad I wasn't him"_, his yami said with a sweat drop on his head.

The conclusion was simple. They didn't want anyone following them, especially _Aurors_ who can transform into animals. _They were both Death Eaters._ And if they're lucky, both of them might lead Malik and his yami to the professor's house had been assigned to look for. _'Two birds with one stone, eh?'_

Marik silently and quickly followed the two witches with cloaks, _'hopping'_ from one shadow to another through the dilapidated brick houses. The _'yami'_ smirked at his prey, eying every single movement like an owl hidden in the darkness. The _hikari_ inside him was silent watching and keeping his ears open and wonder what they were doing at a time like this.

------------------------------

"He lives here?" asked Bella in a voice of contempt. "_Here_? In this Muggle dunghill? We must be the first of _our_ kind to ever set foot-"

But Narcissa was not listening; she had slipped through a gap in the rusty railings and was already hurrying across the road.

"Cissy, _wait_!"

_-Beginning of Chpt 2, Spinner's End, Pg.26, British Hard Cover, HP & the H-B P-_

------------------------------

-(( _Muggle dunghill_, _our kind_, huh? Sounds pretty _pure-blood_ to me.))- Marik snorted.

-(Let's keep on following)- his hikari said quickly.

-((I'm on it))-

Marik kept following them at a safe distance and at least close enough to let his hikari focus and listen to what they were saying. Two minds were better than one. While Marik followed the Death Eaters, he kept a look out and made sure they didn't get caught or planned an escape route. His hikari would listen and collect the information. They were extremely dangerous spies, not even _007_ would stop them. Both of the Death Eaters were fighting about something. One of them seemed _desperate to inform someone_, while the other was _trying_ to stop her. And it looked like the other failed doing so.

Soon they came to a street called Spinner's End. They went to a door, knocked on it, and waited.

-(Marik! Hop into Bellatrix's shadow!)-

-((What? Have you gone _nuts_?))- Looking at his hikari in bewilderment.

-(Looks like your _'insane virus'_ has inflicted me. Of course I'm not! We _need_ the information. Yami did say you'd fit in and even like the job!))-

Marik then remembered just about six days ago when he asked the Pharaoh that whether the job was too easy. However, Yami had corrected it that it will be dangerous; even it'll put his hikari into danger. But then Yami's words echoed again in his mind...

"The more dangerous the situation is, the more _'valuable'_ the information. _Huge risk, yet a priceless reward_."

Marik smirked to himself. When he gets back he'll definitely thank Minori for unsealing the true power of the items with her _Millennium_ _Charm_. Not did it only released him, to make good terms with his hikari again, but the Pharaoh's _'yami' _side started to kick in. It's nice having him going _'all yami' _once in a while.

-((Well, here goes nothing. One...THREE!))-

Just as the door was opened, Marik landed right on Bellatrix's shadow unseen. And by the look of things, he was lucky. Bellatrix was now looking back cautiously if anyone had followed them. He didn't move or even breathed. When she turned back and greeted the man form the house, he sighed in relief. All he had to now was _'ride'_ on her shadow and see what information they were about to reveal.

The living room itself was quite stuffy, filled with dust and even seemed to show that who ever lived there only stayed temporarily not using it for the rest of the year. Malik looked around. There were plenty of bookcases and there were no _'muggle'_ devices what so ever, only the light bulb on top of the room. At least this _had _to be the _place_. He (Malik) carefully used his shadow powers and in his hands formed small digital camera. Immediately he started to record the conversation the wizard and witches were having.

Marik on the other hand, kept a watch if any of them had sensed shadow magic. And thankfully none of them noticed. He would have to admit Seto and the former priest were pretty darn smart to make most of the devices they used in the OotS. One of advantages was that they were easy to conjure up with shadow magic. Secondly, all devices had a cloaking device that made them extremely useful hiding the device or creating a diversion that they were _'normal muggle items'._ Lastly, they could be used everywhere so they didn't have to be afraid about going into _'magical areas'_ where normal muggle things don't work.

The conversation they were having in Marik's opinion was interesting. Especially, when a man who resembled much like a mouse came in from a secret doorway of the shelves. Marik could sense fear in him, but the fact that he was _Peter Pettigrew_ somehow made Marik had an urge to roast this rat. He was the weak type of person who'd go on to the stronger side of the group to only save his silly sorry little $$.

Malik paying a lot more attention to the conversation than his yami now knew who the wizard was. The wizard was Severus Snape, the Potions Teacher at Hogwarts and Head House of _Slytherin_. "So...he's a _double agent_ after all. On the _'dark lord's side that is,"_ Malik thought.

Silently Malik took off the patch on his left eye, where the _Millennium Eye_ was and started to scan into the minds of the three in front of him. It wasn't easy to read a mind that protected itself with _Occlumency. _However, occlumency had an _awful weakness_. One. The mind had to be focused and emotionless. Two, it _only works against the Legilimens Spell, _which meant _Shadow magic_ was _undetected_ and _can be used so freely_. Of course, when people feel safe in an isolated place, they usually let their guard down. Not just defenses physically but also mentally.

But to make reading minds _easier_ is when they had a conversation. During a conversation, the mind without realizing, usually releases _memory bubbles_ to the other person to make them understand. It's a sort of _force _that makes other understand what you wish to tell and if such _force _is powerful, you could persuade others easily. The memory bubble is clearer when the memory itself, is still new. At least for someone who saw through the _Millennium Eye _it was like that. In Malik's personal opinion, to him it was like catching DVDs with a fishing net, the discs were was coming out of their heads and he could store them in the _Eye_ to look at them later.

The witch named Narcissa to Malik was the easiest to catch her memory bubbles. She was agitated, frightened, scared and confused. You could say the _perfect_ situation (or should I say _perfect recipe_?) to read one's mind without putting much effort, like catching a salmon on their way up the streams to breed with a strong net. Bellatrix was only slightly harder to read only because she was angry with Snape. But information from her was pretty reliable. Last but not least, Snape. His state of mind made Malik twitch since he realized that this one was one of the experts at occlumency. But since he was busy trying to calm down the _'worried witch'_ Malik made extra effort to get his memory bubbles. Catching his (Snape's) memory bubbles was like catching the salmon that had a knack to jump out of the net and get away. The conversation eventually ended that Snape and Narcissa were going to do an _Unbreakable Vow_.

-((...He's going to do it?))- Marik scoffed.

-(She's desperate.)- The hikari nodded at his yami.

Marik however, agreed with Bellatrix's opinion. Snape seemed to have a _'soft spot' _for her or maybe _the boy_. He was risking his _'golden boy'_ status from the dark lord over a measly kid? Especially if the dark lord made all his members _'a lifetime service to the death', _it was pretty normal to think it was a bad idea. But then...an idea flashed in Malik's head. As the _last _tongue of flame encircled Snape's and Narcissa hands he quickly shot _shadow magic invisibly_ to the last chain. And so the _Vow_ ended with _a bit of something added to it_.

-(Marik! What did you do?)-

-((Just calm down, it's something the Pharaoh requested if something like this happened))- trying to shrug off his hikari's glare.

-(Yami?)-

-((Yeah, I'll fill you in later.))-

-(...)-

Marik only watched his hikari going all quiet. Not that he could blame him. He also wondered why the Pharaoh requested it.

-((Say, is it true that Dumbledore trusts Snape?))-

-(Without a doubt more like it. Or more Dumbledore has this thing of _'trusted until proven guilty'_ attitude. Well that's what I saw in Snape's mind. Why?)-

It suddenly hit Marik why he was walking in the Egyptian exhibit with the Pharaoh six days ago.

_---------------------------_

_"You see this artifact? It shows the Ancient Egyptian Goddess Maat, the goddess of truth and justice. From the information I got about Dumbledore, he'll believe in the person who he truly believes until the very end, even if that person betrayed him at the cost of his life. If Snape or any of the other Death Eaters do some kind of bond, a promise or even an Unbreakable Vow to kill him, I want you to alter it. You may think I'm crazy about this, but take my word. For behind truth and justice, there is also atonement and forgiveness."_

_----------------------------_

The door had opened and both Narcissa and Bellatrix left the house. Marik leapt into the shadows of the streets and flicked a small _flea sized grain_ on Bellatrix's hair under her ear before she _apparated_. _"Well, there goes another of Kaiba's devices (a tracker device)"_, Marik thought. Malik of course was looking at his yami trying to get the answer. Marik shook his head.

-((We need to get this recording back to the Order. I think it'd be better if the Pharaoh explained it to you _personally_.))- He smirked at his hikari who was giving a _sharp-dagger-glare_ at him, though it was still _too soft_ to count as one by _Yami-standards_.

-(Fine)- he muttered and said something under his breath about a very stubborn yami.

Marik made his way back to the trees and smiled proudly at himself. So _that_ was what the Pharaoh was thinking. It may make the Pharaoh sound a bit of a _goody-two-shoes_ but if one _really understood the words atonement and forgiveness in the end..._

Marik then disappeared into the shadows with the last thought and grinned, _"Somehow I'm starting to like how the Pharaoh's mind works, a damn-dangerous-deadly strategist he his."_

------------------------------

_Domino, Japan_

_'Kame' Game Shop_

_10:30 AM Local Time_

------------------------------

Yugi stared at the blue sky from the window of bedroom on the second floor, eagerly waiting for his _OWL results _from the Takazumiryu Magic School. A _LOT_ of things had been happening this summer holiday. And Yugi was sure of that. He hadn't heard anything from his yami this morning, but _stopped himself_ from calling his other half. At least until he _gets the rest he deserves_...

The Order of the Shadows had their 'first official' meeting about a week ago. Yugi and his friends (including the Head Master of Takazumiryu Magic School, Mr. Ryu) had given out invitations to those who had wished to join the intermedian organization. And even to Yami's astonishment many had come...from all over the world. All who had joined in had magic branches that were unknown and most extremely old, dating as far as the ancient Egyptian times. Together they had organized an international magic organization without getting caught by the Ministry. This meant they were very busy getting information from any available and reliable sources. He and Yami finally got a day off yesterday since they were one of the 'Masters of the Order'. Six leaders with four main branches and its own members headed the Order.

A 23-year-old young man, with dark brown hair and grey eyes named Sieg, headed the most recent branch that had joined in. All wizards who belong to his branch were called _Element Masters_. Many of them came from northern and eastern parts of Europe. Their abilities are controlling all elements that of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Light, Darkness, and the strongest element, Void. What also made this branch special was not only could they control the elements but turn into them as well.

Sieg was the closest to Yugi because when the Seal of the Millennium items released their true power of the items, Yugi and Yami were Element Masters as well. Thanks to Sieg, Yugi and Yami could control their powers and learn useful spells of the Elements (though Sieg was still better). Many of the elemental spells didn't exist in modern magic, like Reflect, Distortion (which absorbs damage), Haste (speeds up your movement) and so on. Sieg is currently in charge of the Element Masters as spies and information sources.

The main branch that had the most important role was the Shadow Casters being headed by Yami, Yugi, and Minori. They do most of the infiltration work of the groups. Of course all who were in the branch can use Shadow Magic. Again, the Seal affected everyone who was close to the bearers of the Millennium items. This meant Yugi's closest friend like Joey, Tristan, Mai, Tea, and even Ootogi were granted with their own Shadow Magic (though it isn't as strong as the item bearers).

The branch next to it was just important. Seto/Seth headed this with Dimitri, a 30 year old Russian wizard, tall and thin, brown haired with green eyes giraffe like person (Minori would say he's like an electric post, since Dimitri towered over Seto) a CEO himself who was developing mixture of magic and technology (much like Kaiba). The two workaholics naturally clicked and thus _The Illusionists_ branch was made. Many who were in the branch were from Canada, the US, Russia, China and Japan. They were in charge of covering up and making sure _only members_ knew about coming in and out the _Order_ headquarters or sub-bases without getting caught. This included spying and tracking devices.

The last branch in the Order is the _Soul Summoners,_ headed by Mr. Ryu a 38-year-old wizard and Headmaster of the Takazumiryu Magic School in Japan. This branch had the most ancient type of magic; many wizards and witches here were Shamans or people who could call the souls of the dead (mainly from Asia). Mr. Ryu's family had a long history of important Shamans. When he had heard from his own students they were looking for help to recruit others into the Order, he had join in the cause.

Yugi looked on to his bed, there was _Shay (which Yami named him after the Ancient Egyptian God of Destiny)_, his golden phoenix who was sleeping. The name did suit him for he came to him and Yami when they had first got their wands, so one of Shay's feathers had become the core of his wand. A Phoenix can't be tamed, but in Yugi's opinion Shay was very intelligent for he knew Yami existed in Yugi. When Yugi was in control, the golden phoenix was affectionate, spoilt and protective when it knew something was wrong. But when Yami took over, the phoenix was respectful and at peace usually if Yami had let Shay perch on his shoulder.

-((Morning, Yugi.))- The spirit of the puzzle said tiredly. A translucent '_twin'_ Yugi was now sitting on his studying desk stretching himself who had crimson and sharper eyes.

-(Morning. How's the rest?)- His light said warmly.

-((Better, I'm _glad_ we had a day off. Have the letters arrived?))- Yami asked.

-(No, not yet. But it they should come today.)-

-((I see))- he sighed.

-(What are you thinking about?)-

-((The Order. Everything's ready now, it's only a matter of time when it's going to start.))-

-(You think... we... c-can save grandpa?)- Yugi said his voice full of worry.

-((_We will. We have to_. Though it'll take a while))-

Yami looked at his lighter half; there was pain through his eyes. His grandpa was in hospital in a comma state. Just as their year ended in Takazumiryu Magic School, Yugi was informed that his grandpa's soul was lost or been taken when he was visiting the UK. Some of the Ministry workers who came said a _Dementor_ did it. And soon more victims fell. Only, such news never made it to the _Daily Prophet_. But Yami was even more surprised to find a symbol on grandpa's arm…

_The Orichalcos Seal… Not three... But five seals all together… _

_Dartz_ of course, already went to the afterlife; it only meant one thing…_someone else_ had added the last two seals… A day after he received a call from both Joey and Kaiba. For some odd reason _Helmos_ and _Critias_ had appeared in their decks after the legendary dragons/knights disappeared about one and a half year ago.

And when he checked his deck…_Timaeus was there too_.

_Legendary dragons/knights? Orichalcos Seal? At the same time…Coincidence? _

They had made the Order to know what had happened, since the Ministry was too busy sorting out them selves… There were a couple of other wizards and witches that were attacked and their souls were being taken in Europe. It wasn't the _Orichalcos God_ that bothered Yami's mind, but what were the _Last Two Seals_ were used for? Defeating the three seals was already a feat, _but five_? Another thing that bothered him was the language on the last two seals was different. The letters was nowhere near the _Atlantian_ language or anything Yugi had learned in _Ancient Runes_. "_Why do I have a feeling this is going to be more dangerous?"_ he asked in his mind to no one particular.

Then a flutter of wings was heard. -(Our letters are here!)- Yugi said excitedly.

A white snowy owl soared onto the bed beside Shay and lifted its right leg. Yugi untied the letters and gave it an owl treat before it left.

-((Well go on; let's see your O.W.L. results.))- The darker half urged with a smirk on his face.

-(Not mine, _our_ O.W.L. results.)- The light corrected.

-((Alright, _our_ results then.))- Yami laughed and did a brotherly rub on Yugi's head.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS

**Pass Grades:**

Exceptionally Outstanding (O"")

Outstanding (O)

Exceeds Expectations (E)

Acceptable (A)

**Fail Grades:**

Poor (P)

Dreadful (D)

Troll (T)

**YUGI MUTOU HAS ACHIEVED:**

Ancient Runes: O

Arithmancy: E

Astronomy: O

Care of Magical Creatures: O

Charms: O

Defense Against the Dark Arts: O""

Divination: E

Herbology: O

History of Magic: O

Muggle Studies: O

Potions: O""

Transfiguration:O""

We would also like to inform you, that you have been selected as a transfer student to represent Japan in the best magic school of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Congratulations!

Yours sincerely,

Professor Hiroto, Ryu

Head Master of Takazumiryu Magic School

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I got two Exceeds Expectations, seven Outstanding, and THREE Exceptionally Outstanding! I wonder where that came from. Hey! We're transferred to Hogwarts! We could meet Harry there and get more info for the Order!" he said happily.

-((We're going to Hogwarts? Though I think Professor Ryu had something to do with it.))- Yami said without a doubt. At least he was glad his partner was in a better mood.

Yami remembered when they first received their letters and chuckled. None of them believed that there were wizards out there. Especially _poor_ Kaiba, he was already _frustrated of handling_ _his yami, Seth_ who just happened to pop out of the Millennium Rod and all he needed was to have someone told him that _wizards were real_.

_And…? _

_An Atomic bomb exploded…there goes another Hiroshima and Nagasaki incident… _

"I SWEAR I'M GOING TO SUE THE POST OFFICE! WHAT'S THE POINT OF SENDING AN OWL WHEN I WAS IN AN IMPORTANT MEETING?" He remembered Kaiba shouting on top of his lungs thinking he'd gone _ballistic_ when they gathered at the 'Kame' game shop.

Catching up about 4 years work was very tiring. It ended up that way because their magic hadn't been detected. More or like it, only when the Millennium Charm had released the Seal. For the rest of the year it was mainly all about studying. Even though Yugi himself wasn't really good at subjects in a _normal school_, he enjoyed learning in a magic school. During the whole year (and even in the holidays) they studied a lot and still had to fit in homework. Even Seto and Minori were having a hard time to manage their companies and study at the same time. Then came in the magical object…

_The Time Tuner…_

Thanks to the object, they were able to go back a few hours and do more of their homework and practice spell work. To Seto and Minori's delight they found more time to finish their company projects. Yami's guess is that Seto started to agree that he was a wizard because of the Time Turner. Seto even went for N.E.W.Ts as well. He'd even bet Seto still uses the time turner, _God knows how much he paid to keep one officially or paid Bakura to steal one?_ He rolled his eyes…'workaholics…' Yami muttered.

"Well I guess it leaves the last letter." Yugi said. "But before I open it I'll switch on the laptop. Who knows we got email." He opened his laptop and switching it on.

-------------

World Wide Web

-------------

"_You've got Mail." _

------------

From… SetoKC

To DM SM (Dark Magician Silent Magician)

Subject… Results, letters and the Order

Yugi,

I've got an '_old friend'_ joining in the _Order_; he'll be very useful to get info on the Ministry. Minori and I got our OWLs and NEWTs results. Both of us got ALL Exceptionally Outstanding.

Sorry, but I won't be coming to Hogwarts, so will Minori. Professor Ryu said I'd better not catch too much attention. He's gone into a lot of trouble putting my name and Minori's as muggles. At least no one in the UK or Ministry will know I'm a wizard. Minori would have the same problem if she went into Hogwarts. But it'll give us an advantage since this _old friend of mine_ has an _exclusive status_ in the UK.

Don't forget to come to the next meeting of the Order. Seth says hi to his Pharaoh…He is getting addicted to technology gadgets…I guess he is my '_twin'_ after all… DON'T YOU LAUGH YAMI!

Seto.

------------------------------------

From… RyouBakura KoT (KoT King of Thieves)

To… DM SM

Subject... Have you got the letter?

Hey Yugi,

I recently got my OWLs results. I got Exceptionally Outstanding in DADA, Divination and Transfiguration, two Exceeds Expectations in Arithmancy and History of Magic. The rest are Outstanding. Does an 'Exceptionally Outstanding' exist? Well since it's from the ministry, I think I'm going to believe it.

Professor Ryu said you; Malik and me are transferred to Hogwarts. I don't how he did that. Bakura seems _extremely happy_ (he's even giving evil grins at me!) about new secret passageways he's going to explore…_How much more trouble is he going to get me in?_ ...

Okay got to go…Bakura's getting all fidgety because we're going to the Ministry to steal off some files…_actually more of he's controlling half of my body already trying to run towards the door and my hands are still on this laptop_…we'll meet you at the meeting…

From

Ryou

------------------------------------

From… Gold Egyptian

To... DM SM

Subject... Got your results?

Hey,

Holidays been busy, I got three Exceptionally Outstanding in DADA, Ancient Runes and Transfiguration. _(Thank Ra I studied my butt off!)_ Exceeds Expectations in Divination and Astronomy. The others are all Outstanding. So we're transferred to Hogwarts? Looks like we're going to see _the Boy Who Lived. _But at least we could do more there for the Order.

Isis said the artifacts and wall hieroglyphs would be hidden as soon they can manage it. Rishid is doing ok and Bazil's gotten in touch with the wizards and witches that are in charge of the Egyptian scripts in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry. As soon as we get to Diagon Alley, all the information about the M items will be gone.

Btw Yami, _what on earth did you tell my yami about adding something to an Unbreakable Vow?_ He seems to be quite pleased with himself for some _deluded_ reason. Tell me about it after the '_meeting'_. We'll see you there.

Malik.

--------------------------------------

From… Red Eyes warrior

To...DM SM

Subject... How's the summer?

Hey Yug,

I just got my OWLs, got one Outstanding, all the rest Exceeds Expectation. Well, at least I passed. Honda's got the same too. We're pretty much doing some spy work here and making sure where the main important buildings and all is. Oh yeah, Tea and Yuri dropped an email yesterday; they're pretty busy at the moment. But what's great is that they got into the _Daily Prophet_! Oh and about grandpa, don't worry about him ok? We'll get him back and get back at the bad guys who are doing this. Ok meet you up later! Keep smiling Yug.

From your pal,

Joey

--------------------------------------

-((It seems everyone's busy))- Yami said.

-(Yup. There must be a LOT going on. All the information is going to flow in the meeting on Friday.)- his hikari nodded.

Yugi opened the last letter they received that day. 'Well, there's no going back now. I've gotten this far. I might as well finish everything.' Yugi thought.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr.Mutou

We are pleased to inform you that you have been transferred to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from Takazumiryu Magic School as one of the three best excelled students. Congratulations!

Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 of September. Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys will come and collect you from your house on the 20th of August.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-((One of the _three_? Supposed to be five more or like it.))- Yami snorted.

-(Looks like Kaiba was right. He's not going, neither is Minori.)- Yugi said.

-((Start packing Yugi, Friday's on the 19th, there's still a LOT to prepare when we get to the Order.))- The darker half advised.

-(Yeah. I might as well start now)- the light nodded.

Most of the day was used to get ready everything that was necessary to go to Hogwarts. Yugi looked at his broom, he couldn't actually believe that his grandpa bought him a _Firebolt. _Well, his grandpa loved games and he'd always wanted the best for him. And it was from grandpa's deck that evolved into the deck he and Yami always used.

-(Yami, let's go visit grandpa.)-

Yami at first was quiet, but maybe he was being worriedtoo much over Yugi.

-((Alright, but don't forget to visit the card trading store! I'll take over from there!))- Yami gave Yugi an evil grin.

-(Yami!)- His light moaned.

But Yugi only smiled, Yami had always been there for him and was trying to cheer him up. He knew of his dark's anxiety was for him and didn't want him to worry. Yugi locked the door and walked. If anyone wanted to trade him this life here and right now, he wouldn't give it up.

The God Halakti was forgiving, giving another life, a chance for both of them to start out at the beginning. So even if it meant that _now_ was hardest or the largest obstacle they had to go through, as long as they're together, they can overcome everything.

TO BE CONTINUED…

---------------------------------------------------------------

Yay! I'm done with Chpt Two! Well there you go, some of Malik and Marik along with Yami and Yugi! This chapter is really long (4900 words! Not even with the author notes! I guess I'm having the urge to write)…I think my next chapter can get longer! But I don't think I'll come to that. I have to know when to split the story into the right chapters. I loved writing the emails…hope you enjoyed it as well! Reviews and contributions welcomed!

Well what do you think? The Unbreakable Vow has been altered…wonder what's going to happen…hmmm…How does Malik know who Peter Pettigrew is? ...The main four branches of the OotS…_the Element Masters, the Shadow Casters, the Illusionists and the Soul Summoners_…Why does an Exceptional Outstanding exist?...What does Professor Ryu have to do with the Soul Summoners?...Will the _Orichalcos God_ make a comeback?...

We'll see how the story goes…

On the next chapter….

Ryou and Bakura stealing files and eavesdropping at the Ministry!

More on other YGO characters….

Update 13/10/2006: Fixed the email to names... italics fixed up...


	3. Chapter 3: The Gathering Part Two

**Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows**

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be representatives of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any thing of YGO and HP in this fic (or food/drink merchandise or anything that are commonly known)...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J. K. Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

Mistakes yet again, I guess the letters got screwed up in the last chapter… I think I won't do any more '_wizard letters'_ for a moment and the emails kind of went whacked….well I won't be writing any more soon (only 1-3 chapters or so)….

**AU Notes:** This is the third chapter! Phew, a lot of thinking and research went into this chapter (and maybe the next?). The other day when I was thinking about how would Bakura and Ryou steal from the Ministry…I was like…'_How can they?'…yep, my head was buzzing…_

With the basic fact that now Scrimgeour is the Prime Minister he would be _far more cautious_ than Fudge, plus the Death Eaters came to their premises a short while ago with Voldemort. This of course _invites more heavy security_…_just wonderful… How am I going do that?_

So, I asked my elder sister for an idea. She said to me, "Watch _Ocean's 11_. It's all '_full of thief work'_." I did…and… wow… ideas started to pop out of my head!

So… (grins). This chapter is dedicated to my sister who gave me the idea and all who are reading this fic! _Ocean's 11_ inspired me doing this chapter!

**PS:** If you want to know more about this fic I would advise you to read my own feedback to the reviewers (officially at the end of a chapter in the next chapter, not this one). A certain review may be short or _very short,_ but to me as the author they are _valuable_ _notes_, which you can learn from to develop the story itself. So that's why even the shortest review can give you more ideas and lots of motivation! For any questions, I will try to answer or explain my ideas to the best of my ability.

**To TheOldOne: **

I'm not quite sure what you mean by if I had removed Orichalcos God from Yami. But as far as I know the Orichalcos God was destroyed by Yami in the end of the anime season. If I'm getting your question wrong don't hesitate to ask me again, I don't want to disappoint any of my reviewers. Actually I found your review to be the base to make this story better so far!

For the long chapters, I guess that's my writing style and you'd know why since I wrote my reasons on the AU notes of the 2nd chapter.

_Thanks for mentioning this:_ About the OCs I know how you feel and it does make you feel awkward; I found out many (not all) YGO/HP crossovers that their OCs tend to overdo their roles. But I'll tell you and all of you who are reading this right now, that for my OCs they will have an important role and some but '_few'_ will take on larger roles _(like in this chapter)_. I will explain each OC's reason in joining the OotS to add in _character depth_. _HOWEVER_, I will only restrict them to '_One to Two'_ chapters. Afterwards they'll most likely be only mentioned throughout the main story unless they affect the ending, they might make another appearance. I hope this explanation clears this up.

About Kalim, thanks for getting his name for me! I've been pretty busy doing some research for this chapter. I think it's supposed to be Karim with an 'r' since in Japanese 'r' and 'l' nearly sound the same. And it sounds more Arabic as well. But thank you again; I'll try to add him in soon! (With your credit of course!) And I hope you can review again to make this story better!

**To Setoglomper:**

Yep, another HP/YGO crossover! Why I made it '_unusual'_, different than the '_usual new students that's all fic'_ and in **TheOldOne's** case '_pretty original'_? I've spent a lot of time reading over other people's HP/YGO fanfic and I found out there was this pattern about Voldemort going after the Millennium items and Yugi & co. turning to be Hogwarts students and need to be protected. I kind of figured I wanted to break that pattern and start off differently. I re-read the _OotP _after the sixth book and figured what if there was the _OotS_? So that's how this fic was created! Thanks for your review! If you have any ideas considering this fic just email or tell me for your next review, your suggestions are welcomed!

**To GG7989:**

Thanks! It was my intention to have more dimensions in the HP magical world where both muggle and magical can relate to each other. I'm glad you mentioned it in your review! You might of/not notice that every time you read Harry Potter there's less to do with _our world_. So there's kind of a barrier, a _very large one_. In a sense most wizards don't wish to learn about muggles more, especially those who agree with Voldemort.

At times I kind of feel sorry for wizards and witches who have to live secretive lives, but then again it isn't a reason to stop learning what's around them (That would be _us, muggles_). It's something J. K. Rowling never mentioned in her books because she wants us to grasp the idea of a world where magic rules, but I would say it's a great challenge to do these crossover fics.

If you think about it and look around, you we're in the so-called age of '_Globalization'_ and the '_Technology Revolution'_ (at least what I hear). You see new things being created and upgraded every day to laptops, security, robots and other breaking-ground technology around you. It kind of made me think (at least as a muggle), why reject all of that?

Then you think again as a wizard, the problem is that '_I don't have a clue how they work'_ and when you think about something unknown, you only heard of it's negative affects around you the first thing comes to mind is '_Is that thing dangerous?'_ or '_I don't want to know'_. It's like a feeling when you're a six year old kid and _you meet with a gun_ on the couch. Okay… All you had heard from _your parents_ and _your kiddy friends_ that they are '_dangerous'_ and they '_kill'_ people. Most likely a scared kid would do is to stay far away from it. As you grow, you begin to know more that _not all_ guns kill, that some put people to sleep. You even start to understand in countries like America it's _legal to have one (with a license)_ and it's also for self-protection or to _protect_ others (by the police, etc). So I think they're in a way still afraid to learn, but some are curious (like Mr. Weasly) actually are wizards that can take _the first steps_ to learn and understand how we feel because we _never use magic_.

So the idea of the OotS members came in when I thought '_what if there was a Society where both magical and muggle people join together for a common goal?' _of course some will say '_Is there a reason we have to?'_ But in the end there's also the reason '_We live on the same planet, it's both of our homes. Shouldn't we together protect it from harm?'_ We'll I guess that's what I'm trying to tell people about this fanfic.

Oh yeah, I hope you can spot a very valuable quote in this chapter. It's a shame _not many people realize how simple it is and just how much it means_. Thank you again on this review! (bows) I know (as you've seen on Setoglomper's & TheOldOne's) that I made a long reply, but in this fanfic I plan to put out the best of my abilities to not disappoint my reviewers. I hope you keep reviewing!

**I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:**

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book or any HP book _-text-_

Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

Enjoy!

_**Chapter 3: The Gathering (Part Two) 'Bakura's 7': The Preparation… **_

-------------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_A Muggle Flat near the Ministry of Magic_

_9:30 AM Local Time (Present)_

-----------------------------------------

-((Ryou hurry up! We need to get going!))- Bakura said who had already controlled half of Ryou's body and it was already running towards the door.

"Okay, just…let me send this…email…" Ryou said struggling to keep his hands on the Laptop. "Done."

Ryou then turned it off and placed the laptop into his bag. They had done packing and moved all their belongings to the Order's Sub-base down 3 blocks across the street, the night before. This was preparation for the '_Big Steal'_ they were going to execute. "Well, we're all set." The hikari nodded and swapped places with his yami.

"Let's go." His yami smirked.

……………………………………

_Unknown City, Unknown Country_

_Headquarters of the Order of the Shadows_

_Two and a half weeks ago… _

…………………………………...

The first unofficial meeting of members of the Order of the Shadows just had ended, resulting the four main branches of the Order and the _First Phase: Information Collecting_. And so this is how it all started.

Yami was walking and reading the Order's members file at the same time, behind him a translucent Yugi, hovering in the air reading part of the file too. Beside him walking but in a rather restless (or bored person would do) was Bakura, his '_spirit form'_ hikari of course was looking at his yami in slight sympathy that his darker half had been grouchy the last few days.

"You're bored aren't you Thief?" Yami asked stopping their walk.

"Well, duh. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out, Pharaoh." Bakura snapped.

"Do you want to steal?" Yami asked again. Yugi, looking at his dark wondered what he had in mind.

Bakura only looked at him with a death glare.

"Well then, it's settled. You probably know the Order's regulations that you can't act unless one of the Masters agreed. So I'm giving you a task and chance to steal this time." The pharaoh said calmly.

Bakura, Ryou and even his own hikari gaped.

"You, Pharaoh…Out of ALL PEOPLE WANT _ME_ TO STEAL?"

"Yes. But don't think it's _going to be easy_. Besides you are the best in our branch." Yami said smoothly.

Ryou and Yugi couldn't help but look at Yami. Looks like Yami had some hidden plan.

"So where am I stealing from?" Bakura said emphasizing each word and still trying to recover from shock.

"The Ministry of Magic," stated Yami simply. Then he added with an evil wink, "_In broad day light._"

"Is the darker part of you _starting to kick in_ or something?" Bakura said quickly.

"I guess so." Yami said smirking. "It would have happened _sooner or later_ after the Seal was released. And it happens _to be now…_ So are you in or out?"

"Alright, I'm in." Bakura nodded quickly.

"Good. You can get the details from Professor Ryu. Actually, it was Professor Ryu who asked me to tell you about it. He has this '_friend'_ of his who reminded him of _you_. He also mentions the both of you will _definitely naturally click_. Well then, I still need to sort out the member files, you can meet him in the tactician's room." Yami headed back to the meeting hall, waved Bakura off, who was still standing with Ryou dumbstruck in the middle of the hall.

-(Yami, are you sure what you're doing?)- Yugi asked.

-((Well, you did see how restless and bored he was. If I didn't put him on task, most likely he'd go suicidal.))- Yami responded.

-(No, stealing from the Ministry is.)-

-((It won't be counted, at least in a thief's mind. More or so it would be counted as a challenge. An enjoyment or _a thief's vacation_ and I don't think he's going to be alone.))-

-(He won't?)- The light was confused.

-((Professor Ryu said he'd collect the best of the best to go for the '_Operation Big Steal'_ in the Ministry of Magic.))- Yami explained. -((No need to worry.))-

-(Easy for you to say.)- Yugi sighed.

……………………………………

_Headquarters of the Order of the Shadows_

_Tactician's Room_

……………………………………

"You said there was a task?" asked the Tomb robber in spirit form.

"Yes. Please sit down." Professor Ryu moved a seat toward him with magic.

Professor Ryu Hiroto, 38 years old, one of the youngest headmasters of a magic school in the wizarding world. Roughly as tall as Kaiba, jet black spiky hair, dark brown eyes and if he wore muggle clothes he'd look like some important celebrity or person. Compared to other wizards, he loves technology and respects muggles for their creations, talents and skill.

Ryou and Bakura could only stare at him.

Then, Ryou was the one who asked first, "Yami said this '_friend'_ of yours would help us? I don't think it'd be enough just two people to steal anything in the ministry, especially in broad day light."

Bakura looked to his hikari. Though Bakura had always worked alone in stealing, his light did have a point this time.

"Not to worry, he should be here soon." Professor Ryu said cheerfully.

'_Whoosh!'_

"I'd like to meet not only my friend but my nephew Ethan. He's about your age and also half-British." The headmaster introduced the newcomer who had just teleported into the room.

At an instant, Bakura already liked Ethan. He much resembled the headmaster, for his hair was spiky but instead of black he had blond hair and blue eyes. He also had a slight build. There was a normal, innocent look about him that you'd expect he's the last person to commit a crime. But if you look into his eyes… He was no ordinary thief.

Ryou yawned; he was actually tired because he read a book late into the night the previous day.

-((Ryou, get some sleep. I'll take it from here))- the darker half told his light.

Ryou didn't say anything, but went straight into his soul room. He might as well not get into the thief business right now. He was just exhausted.

"Bakura, King of Thieves." he introduced himself smugly.

"Yes, I've heard from my uncle. I'm Ethan, or my codename would be _Nox_." Ethan said.

"_Nox_, huh? So you're the one who stole from the Museum of Natural History in America, the _Twilight Star_ (one of the largest diamonds in shape of a star) am I correct?" the tomb robber said starting to like the kid.

"Yep, I got it here." Ethan said showing Bakura the sparkling star diamond. "But I heard you stole something from Gringotts, is this true?" the spiky Brit asked excitedly like a five year kid who was asking what he'd get for his next birthday.

Bakura laughed and slipped a very large Sapphire and Ruby both as big an adult wrist out of his jacket. "You mean these?" Ethan only looked at the gems amazed that it must be hard to steal them and then Bakura slipped them back carefully.

"It'll be an honor to work with the King of Thieves." Ethan smirked.

"And it'll be an honor to work with the legendary _Nox_." Bakura shook the other's hand.

"Natural click I presume. Now then, here is the basic information of the Ministry's layout of each floor, basic objective and main objective." Professor Ryu gave Bakura a CD-ROM disc.

"Oh, and you'd need a group. Since you were mad enough to steal from Gringotts Bank Mr. Bakura, I suggest your group should be full mad people as well." The young headmaster added cheerfully and left the room.

Bakura looked at Ethan who was smirking. "So, who do you have in mind?"

………………………………….

_Headquarters of the Order of the Shadows_

_The Order's Workshop_

_A few minutes later…_

…………………………………..

Ethan had explained to Bakura they would at least need five people, however to make the plans more precise they should get seven members with each their own talents and skill to steal stuff at the ministry especially, a ministry with high security and doing the task in broad daylight.

He also mentioned to the Tomb robber that his uncle had chosen the best individuals _(who had a mad enjoyment to steal, of course)_ from each branch of the Order. Bakura was from the _Shadow Casters_ and Ethan from _the Soul Summoners_. So what was left in the Order was from _the Illusionists_ and _the Element Masters_. So now they were in the Order's workshop, soon to meet the last two who are in the main branches of the order.

"Over there, that's Nash, 24 years old, our _illusionist_." Ethan pointed out.

Bakura looked at a young man who had green eyes and was wearing a technician jacket and trousers. He seemed to have shaved his brown hair short. Nash also wore fingerless gloves and a goggle around his neck.

The illusionist was now testing one of his creations. It was a '_hologram make-up disguise'_ created to disguise one's identity in magical and muggle areas. With a flick of a switch he was changed into a fat lady, old man, a government official and the turned back to himself.

"Nash! Long time no see!" greeted the thief codename _Nox_.

"If it isn't Ethan, or _Nox_." The illusionist greeted back.

Ethan then introduced him to Bakura, who was impressed at the technician's creations and devices.

"So what's your specialty?" the tomb robber asked.

"Gadgets, Explosives and Surveillance or GES" Nash stated.

"Welcome to the group." Bakura said.

"The pleasure is all mine." The illusionist said.

"It seems you're already close with Ethan. You know each other?" the thief asked.

"I helped him in surveillance when he stole a Picasso painting owned by a Canadian collector." Nash smirked.

Then as if on cue a water bottle rolled on the floor towards them. It opened the lid by itself and moved the bottle in a standing position.

Bakura's eyes blinked. Suddenly the water in the bottle burst out and smoothly formed into a human. "So is this the group?" the stranger said.

"Yes, Bakura this is Steven, our _Element Master_." Ethan said.

Steven, unlike the others he was more built and his magic signature was strong, a trait that commonly differentiates Element Masters from normal wizards. Slightly shorter than Bakura, dark brown wavy hair and blue eyes, he wore a long navy blue cloak over his attire.

"I'm Steven and I'm 25. My specialty: Disguising, Eavesdropper, Analyzer (of situations) and Decoy or DEAD." He copied off the technician and at the same time did a '_mock bow' to _him.

Bakura couldn't help but laugh. _This is getting more insane…_

Nash only stayed quiet, though his ears were getting red.

"So that leaves us three left." Bakura concluded. Then he looked at Ethan.

"The Order's team is assembled and the rest are in London. We'll get ready all the necessary equipment and head for London."

………………………………

_London, United Kingdom_

_A Flat near the Ministry of Magic_

_About 3 hours later… 8:30 AM (Local Time)_

………………………………

All of them were gathered in a spacious flat that was nearest to the ministry's visitor's entrance. And the last three members had come on time. Bakura was amused when he first saw the last members and when they explained why they had joined the OotS; now all three of them were sitting on the couch.

……………………...

To the left was Adrian a 21-year-old ministry worker who checked wands, a cleaner and messenger who went back and forth in the ministry taking important notes and parchments from one department to another. His reason to join the Order was to get back at the ministry. Adrian wasn't too fond of the new system of working under Scrimgeour's rule; even his wage was cut in half because he wasn't there at the ministry when the Death Eaters came. Although it was his shift that fateful night, he had an owl that sent news of his aunt just died of a heart attack and excused himself with a note. However, Scrimgeour did not believe such a story and even didn't want to listen to his uncle who tried defending him because they couldn't find a single note that he was excused.

Even so the ministry itself was restless and had a fore boarding feeling. The feeling of insecurity was most likely to drive superior workers nuts and in the end they take the anger on their workers who were at the lowest ranks. And Adrian was one of the victims.

………………………………..

In the middle of the couch was Justin, a 28 year old who also was ministry worker but he was an _Auror_ from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Bakura's eyes went wide. _Someone who's defending the ministry was trying to rob it? Now that's something new…_ Justin much like Adrian was getting more pushed down by the ministry's ways. He also had a strong sense of justice and was not happy that when he got into being an Auror was not what he expected. One thing that ticked him off was that most of his superiors were not equal to everyone, especially _muggle born_ wizards. He liked the Order's attitude in respecting one another as a team. Unlike the ministry who were walking around in circles because internal affairs, the OotS were moving gradually from new information to the next information and even accepting others who ministry would never accept.

Professor Ryu was the one who introduced him to the Order. It was he who told Justin what was the '_base'_ of the OotS. And it even surprised Justin that such a base was a quote from a muggle leader named _Bill Clinton_ who had recently finished a book called '_My Life'_.

"_Did you know what he wrote on the last sentence on his first page? No? Well, I'll tell you." The Japanese head master took a breath and said "And to the memory of my grandfather, who taught me to look up to people others looked down on, because we're not so different after all." _

Despite those words were from a muggle leader, he had to admit from those words showed that Bill Clinton's love for the people to live in harmony was greater than both Fudge and Scrimgeour stuck together. At first he was hesitant to help thieves when Professor Ryu told him about the mission. But then, his curiosity beat that feeling of him being an _Auror_ in the end and asked (as a normal person) what and why to Ethan did he like being a thief.

------------------------------------

'_What? Who? Me? I never really thought about money. Nah, it's nothing to do with the rich stuff really, hurting people isn't my style either, more or so I do it for myself. I don't really know how to explain it. It's that feeling to go up for the challenge; you risk everything and come out as the victor! For me the reward of an object I've stolen in the end is only 25 of that satisfying feeling, since one victory is always temporary. To the 75 is the feeling for the journey itself. This of course sticks to you for the rest of your life; a Great Memory is actually a Priceless Treasure that I'm making…well… since you can't steal one." Ethan ended it with a laugh._

_-------------------------------------_

Justin thought about it. He became an Auror because it was a challenge, he even might have to risk his own life and he wanted that wonderful feeling that he had done something for the better. Wouldn't muggles feel the same thing? They kept creating things because it was challenging, they even risk a lot on their experiments and all of that was for making their lives better because they wanted to accomplish something. And they never had magic in the first place. "_So that what the quote meant…because we're not so different after all."_ Justin thought. And so that was his story.

……………………………

On the right was their last and oddest member. His name was Lenny the _House Elf_. Not just any ordinary one, but Scrimgeour's _ex-House Elf _who was '_accidentally and unintentionally freed'_ by his own master. On a hot summer's night, Scrimgeour got into a fight with one of the ministry officials, and by accident without realizing it…

'Had thrown his old battered scarf due to anger, which had landed into Lenny's arms and stomped out of the office like walking volcano bursting out lava and _said to the elf to get out of there_.'

_He never knew or noticed he just had freed his servant._

Lenny of course had appareted due to happiness without thinking and when he was not at the ministry anymore and literately screamed, "I'M FREE!" into a game shop with a hikari and a yami staring at him. He apparently had apparated to Domino, Japan. And immediately stopped to look at Yugi (he can't see Yami). Lenny backed off.

"It's alright. I won't hurt you. You're a house elf right? I'm a wizard so don't worry." Yugi said kindly as he showed his wand.

"Oh, sorry." That was only the words that came out of the elf's mouth.

"So where are from? And what's your name?" the hikari asked gently.

"London. Lenny is my name sir. My master just freed me by accident, a Horrible Master. Don't know where to go now." The elf said truthfully.

-((By Accident? _Now that's something._ Yugi, give him a tour of the shop.))- Yami insisted.

Yugi only smiled, he knew Yami was thinking the same thing as he was.

"Well since you haven't figured out where you're going, you can stay here if you want. There's a spare bedroom." Yugi said and walked to the entrance of the shop; turn the shop sign to 'CLOSED'. Then he turned to the Elf, "Come on, I'll show you around."

Lenny's eyes glittered with each passing moment. Yugi's kindness in showing every type of game as they toured the shop had reminded him of his 'Grand Mistress' (Scrimgeour's mother). Before she died he was treated kindly by her as a friend despite she, (Scrimgeour's mother) was from a pure blood family. But after her death, automatically he was inherited to her awful son. An awful master he had to have.

Soon they were in Yugi's room; one of Yugi's leather wristbands had caught the elf's attention. Yami even laughed and said –((Go on, you can give it to him. You still have plenty))- Yugi did what Yami had told him. The elf's eyes watered. He had missed the feeling of kindness for too long.

Currently Yugi was now showing Lenny playing a video game. He handed the joystick to the elf that was soon getting the hang of the game. And lastly he also showed the elf the card game 'Duel Monsters'. It had dragons, magicians, beasts and many more characters. But then the elf stopped dead and kept asking Yugi to forgive him that he had wasted his time.

"I'm not worthy of such presence of Yugi Mutou! I'm small dirty house elf! Too weak to you sir!" The house elf cried.

Yugi only looked at the elf in sympathy. Suddenly the hikari got an idea; he lifted up Lenny under his arms and on to the desk. He then pulled out two cards from a pack of cards he bought recently that was on the desk.

"Hey, don't say you're weak. See these two cards? It's Mystical Elf and Celtic Warrior; they're both elves in Duel Monsters." Yugi said.

This of course got the house elf's attention.

"They're both aren't the strongest cards, but they always try their best to help me and any other beginner's basic deck in a duel." Yugi handed them to the house elf and said, "Right now you're tall as me right? We're equals and friends okay? Remember, it's not the size of your body that counts but how kind your heart is to others and yourself."

"I…thank you sir! Thank you!" the elf bowed still crying but this time tears of happiness came down his face.

"B-but Lenny wants to get back on ex-master, all for what he has done!" the elf growled.

"Who's your ex-master Lenny?" Yugi asked.

"Scrimgeour." The elf spat the name in disgust.

"The next Prime Minister of the Ministry of Magic is your ex-master?" Yugi raised a brow. Yugi thought for a while.

–((Why not let him in the Order? Professor Ryu likes house-elves. ))- Yami pointed out.

"Say, do you want to join in the OotS Lenny?" the hikari offered.

-----------------------------------

_And thus 'Bakura's 7' was born. Bakura, Ethan, Nash, Steven, Adrian, Justin and Lenny. And so…'Operation Big Steal' had started… _

_Okay… back to London… _

-----------------------------------

"Alright folks, listen up." Ethan announced. "Our target in '_Operation Big Steal'_ is one, the _Prophecy Shards_ _(On the Boy Who Lived)_ that is heavily guarded in the Department of Mysteries on Level Nine, two, _Scrimgeour's secret files_ on plans of the ministry on a _Secret Level_ and three, on Level Five in the International Magical Trading Standards Body there is an item called the _Unknown Prophecy of Destiny (UPD)_, that the Order has been trying to look for. Any questions so far?"

"I've heard about the Prophecy Shards and the secret files, but what's this Unknown Prophecy of Destiny all about?" Justin asked.

"The UPD is a seal actually similar to the _Millennium Charm_, in the Soul Summoners' branch long ago a Seer made a prophecy that…

'_When the dark wizard whose name is feared above all rises again for the second time endangering the world, 4 groups of members shall join, Under the name of the Shadows. To defeat the dark lord, seek the Unknown Prophecy of Destiny.'_" Ethan explained.

"That was long." Adrian said.

"You're saying we're all here because…" Bakura trailed off, but gave an indication he knew what he was trying to say.

"Yeah, the prophecy _points to all of us_." Ethan sighed.

"Figures we get into something _like this_." Steven muttered.

"Not that I care, when do we start?" Nash asked.

"How about _now_?" Bakura insisted.

"Okay, so far from the other _OotS_ members like Joey, Tristan and other Element Masters had managed to find out the structure of the ministry premises. The most advantageous time to execute our mission is when the ministry is in a lunch and break time _when the visitor's entrance is most packed with people_. So I'm saying about _11: 30AM to 1: 30PM_. And this operation will take place in two and a half weeks time." Ethan gave the details at the same time showing a video on the TV of the ministry building that was underground.

"Two and a half weeks? There's _something up,_ is there _Nox_?" the tomb robber smiled.

"I wanted to make the plan _very precise_ and in _the best situations_. For this information I'll let Lenny to explain this." Ethan gave a hint to the house elf to talk.

"My ex-master will officially succeed Fudge in that given time and during 11: 30 AM to 1: 30 PM should be far more crowded than normal days. Of course, _most of the ministry will be celebrating_." The little elf grinned.

"So…we're crashing the party! _I like that_." Bakura cackled. "There will be more people coming in and it means more chaos!" shouted happily.

"Weird, the new minister usually takes a month to officially succeed from the previous one. I guess they're in a hurry. Well, in a hurry to make their reputations being trodden on by us." Adrian added, which made everyone laugh.

"For the main steps of the Operation, I'll let the King of Thieves explained this." Ethan pointed to Bakura.

"Ok, listen close. There's a lot of preparation we have to do in two and a half weeks time. Especially since we're doing this operation where there's a LOT of people and where there's LOTS of Law enforcements around. You could say it's an '_ALL or Nothing at All'_ situation. " Bakura said.

The thief looked around and made sure he had everyone's attention and took a breath.

"Since you're all eager to get going, this is my guide…"

-----------------------------------

_Pro Thief Rule No.1: Reconnaissance._

"_We need to know everything that's going on inside the ministry building. From the rotations of the security guards, staff, other important people on their names, nicknames to even how they drink their coffee. Also, we have to know our enemy, Scrimgeour's schedule everyday. I would recommend that we all should know the ministry's building off by heart, it's basically a labyrinth in there so make sure we know all the secure and quick ways out incase something gets ugly."_

_------------------------------------_

_Pro Thief Rule No.2: Power_

"_Even though this is during the afternoon, we all know the ministry is underground. To make our movements easy I suggest cutting all the magic sources or in our muggle terms is to cut the electricity off. They'll be blind in the darkness. Nash do you have something that does this?"_

"_Yeah, similar to a Put-Outer which takes out muggle lights, I made one that cancels out magic. Even wands won't work when they use the Lumos Charm! Also it doesn't affect our technology; it's called an M-Put Outer, though there is a problem." The technician said._

"_What's that?" _

"_I need someone to ignite or press the red button from inside the ministry."_

"_I'll leave this to you Lenny; you probably want to cause a chaos on Scrimgeour's special day." Bakura smirked at the elf._

"_Yes sir!"_

_--------------------------------_

_Pro Thief Rule No.3: Surveillance._

"_They may not have any security cameras, but we need our own ears and eyes when nearly every one of us is inside. Steven, you'll be our ears and eyes on the inside and Nash from the outside. Got more gadgets GES guy?"_

"_Yup, I have translucent sticker cameras with night vision too. The smallest cameras I've made, just stick them in a strategic place and it can be used in looking and hearing, keep in contact and the M-Put Outer won't affect them."_

_---------------------------------------_

_Pro Thief Rule No.4: Construction_

"_Actually, I would call this practice. A task to Justin, Adrian, and Lenny, I want you all to go around the ministry to all the areas that usually normal people don't have access to. From your memories we will make a magic simulation of the ministry itself, so that on the day we can lessen the mistakes we're going to make."_

_----------------------------------------_

_Pro Thief Rule No.5: Intelligence_

"_We need the codes to get into the visitor's entrance and the Secret Level of Scrimgeour's secret files. Also, we need all security codes there are among the staff, this is extremely important so when we start this operation, get cracking."_

_----------------------------------------_

_Pro Thief Rule No.6: Transport (Escape) _

"_This is the hard bit. I suggest we stay away from the Floo Powder and Apparition since both of its networks can be tracked down. Instead, focus on the visitor's entrance lift or an exit for ministry officials. For Lenny, you're the PM's house elf so you won't be targeted by the Law enforcement; I doubt Adrian or especially you Justin would be asked, since you're both ministry workers. However when this is all finished I want you to all leave normally and try not to be too conspicuous. We'll meet at the Rendezvous point at 4: 00 PM, don't forget to wear hologram make-up disguise. _

_-----------------------------------------_

"We're finished here. Now, Let's Start!" Ethan announced enthusiastically.

……………………………………

For the first week, Bakura's 7 focused on knowing the ministry building (by sticking the translucent sticker cameras everywhere) and walking in as a visitor (with Nash's hologram make-up disguise) and its people inside it, especially Scrimgeour who, from day to day was looking happier that he was succeeding Fudge. Justin and Adrian easily intercepted the security codes from the staff. They also did simulations and practices to make sure that if something went wrong they had a plan B to a plan F to wriggle their way out.

The second week was focused on getting more information to the areas of the UDP and the Prophecy Shards, since Lenny knew everything about Scrimgeour's secret files. How you might ask? Scrimgeour 'still thinks' that Lenny the house elf is his servant. The PM told him everything about the Secret Level incase the elf needed to get the files to deliver them to him and also said a couple of other ministry officials know about it. He did say to the elf to keep it a secret. Lenny could and would, but he wasn't the PM's house-elf anymore. With a celebration going on, they needed to know all who are invited to make sure who were thegood, the bad and the ugly. Knowing the stronger and wiser wizards and witches who will come, has its advantages, so on their way out, it was better they (Bakura's 7) stay out of those exceptional wizards and witches way.

……………………………………..

_Back to the Present time…_

……………………………………..

---------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Inside a Heaters Repair van a street away from the Visitor's Entrance of the Ministry_

_11: 00 AM (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

That van looked pretty normal on the outside, but on the inside Nash's surveillance system was already online.

Everyone was making the last preparations to the operation. Adrian, Justin and Lenny were already inside now it was up to the members of the _OotS_. Bakura had the hardest stealing task, which was to steal both the Prophecy Shards and the UPD. It meant two detours before he was going for the exit. But inside him his thief pride was smiling and couldn't wait to get into the ministry.

Ryou was checking everything they needed once they were inside. He wasn't at sure first when he heard about the actual plan, but later he agreed since his yami was in a lighter mood. He took the role a look out for Bakura since Steven was going to be busy looking out for Ethan.

The hikari stuck a translucent sticker camera on his shirt on a button and finally finished by pressing a switch on the _hologram make-up disguise. _He looked at himself; he looked (and was) a businessman (or wizard) whose job was trading.

-((You look nice Ryou.))- His dark mocked.

-(Well you're not doing this aren't you?)- Ryou looked at his yami annoyed.

-((Hell no, you're better at _acting nice_ than I am.))- Bakura grinned.

"I'm all set." Ryou told everyone.

"Good, I'd say each of you three should _teleport_ at least 3 blocks away, you know your positions." Nash reminded them for the last time.

The three nodded.

"_Operation Big Steal,_ Start!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

---------------------------------------

Yep! A cliffy! Not that I wanted to…I had to cut down my writing in half (This chapter is about 5000 words! No AU notes and review replies included. If included …words.) So there you go, another long chapter!

Yami wants Bakura to steal! (laughs)… well Yami has got his '_darker behavior'_ back after all…huhahaha…

To the _Bill Clinton's 'My Life'_ quote belongs to him. I read his book and it's EXCELLENT! It was also my inspiration how Justin could accept Ethan as how a 'normal' person would feel and not as an Auror. So I made it the '_base'_ motto of the _OotS_. For you speedy or serious readers out there, the book '_My Life'_ is a must!

On Ethan's quote as a thief, I think this is how a professional thief thinks (Bakura as well). I don't think they look for the riches, well since professional thieves are loaded (with money) from their 'first robberies' I think they're now looking for the excitement and adrenaline in stealing.

I like doing the Pro Thief Rules! I had to watch over Ocean's 11 three times or so to write down the main points. Parts of the text, belongs the film Ocean's 11, while most of it is mine.

You'd probably noticed the word '_teleport'_ form the Order members; I wanted to make their magic different so it's not possible for the ministry or even Death Eaters to track them down.

In the next Chapter…

Execution of '_Operation Big Steal'_!

Reviews, ideas, and contributions welcomed!

Update 13/10/2006: Fixed up italics... and separating stuff...


	4. Chapter 4: The Gathering Part Three

**Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows**

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be representatives of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any thing of YGO and HP in this fic (or food/drink merchandise or anything that are commonly known)...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J.K.Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

**I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:**

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book or any HP book _-text-_

Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

**AU notes:** Here's the 4th Chapter done and ready! To tell you the truth… when I posted the 3rd chapter I was already halfway through… And still I had to watch Ocean's 11 again…

The name of the movie Ocean's 11 comes from the leader named Daniel Ocean (Acted by George Clooney). Since it was his 11 members of expert thieves who stole from 3 CASINOS in Los Vegas in one night thus it was named Ocean's 11. In my fic it's called Bakura's 7 because it's Bakura's band of expert thieves of seven members. Why seven? Lucky magic number seven…

**_PLUS NOTE:_** I've seen many people's best sites in YGO on their profiles, but I haven't seen my favorite site there yet. If you want to go to a really awesome fan site I suggest going toIt's the best site so far that has the most detailed summaries of the Orichalcos anime series (even they have a complete pictures of each episode!). And for any fan of YGO the fan art selection is great! _**I mean for Seto fans there's like 202 or something fan arts of him! And even more on Yami and Yugi! Wallpapers, deck info, manga scans and other stuff are also complete!** _A Thailand guy who has a friend in Japan is running the site. That's why the site is very up-to-date. Don't worry about the language; most of it is in English. There may be spelling or grammar errors there but if you look at the whole site he and his group who runs the sight are very hard working YGO fans. (The latest anime series goes into YGO GX) So if you got the time, please visit the site!

For the feedback to the reviewers… like I mentioned in my last chapter they're all going to be at the end of the chapter from now on. Well enough of me… to the story!

Enjoy!

_**Chapter 4: The Gathering (Part Three) 'Bakura's 7': Executing 'Operation Big Steal'… **_

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_London, United Kingdom_

_At the Top of Visitor's Entrance to the Ministry_

_11:30 AM (Local Time)_

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Both Ryou (business wizard holding a brief case), Ethan (invisible) had been cloaked by the _hologram make-up disguise, _while Steven used his own specialty of disguising himself as wind. In a neighborhood full of shabby-looking offices, a pub and overflowing skip they went into an old red telephone box that was missing panes of glass which stood before a heavily graffitied wall.

It was very stuffy (since the hikari and Ethan were both inside together), but Ryou quickly closed the telephone box and pushed the numbers in a sequence. 6…2…4…4…2…and as the dial whirred smoothly back into place a cool female voice was heard from the telephone box.

"_Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."_

"I'm Jason Nixon; I have international trading business on Chocolate and Sweets." Ryou said smoothly.

"_Thank you,"_ said the cool female voice. "_Visitor, please take the badge and attach it to your robes."_

The metal chute where returned coins usually appeared rattled and popped out a square silver nametag. It read _Jason Nixon, Chocolate and Sweets International Trading Business_. Ryou pinned it on his shirt and heard the female voice again.

"_Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."_

Soon, the inside of the telephone box sunk into the earth and made its way down. About a minute they were already inside the ministry.

-((Take nice big breaths, Ryou))- the tomb robber said.

-(Alright)- Ryou nodded at his yami and tried to convince himself. Though he was actually thinking, _how did I get myself into stealing?_

"_The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day."_

Ryou went out and muttered under his breath, "Good luck, you two will need It.", without looking at them and went into the long and highly polished dark wood hall of the ministry.

The door of the telephone box closed. Ethan quickly dialed another number, 7…4…5…2…0…1… and the telephone box rattled again.

"_Proceeding to Secret Level,"_ the female voice said this time.

Ethan and Steven only hoped that Bakura and Ryou would get both of the items. Now they had to focus on stealing Scrimgeour's ministry files…

---------------------------------------

_Inside the Ministry of Magic_

_The Visitor's Entrance_

_11: 45 AM (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------

Ryou was doing much of the acting as a tradesman, asking for a few directions at the information desk and soon he walked far in to the end of the Atrium. As he walked he looked at both sides of the hall. There were fireplaces on each side (for Floo powder), the left for arrivals and the right for departure. Only on this special day there were more arrivals than departures it made the hall seemed so packed. There was also a basketball-sized crystal ball that was in front of a large screen. Maybe it worked like a movie projector… It seemed Scrimgeour wanted everyone to know he succeeded Fudge. He walked on and Ryou finally got to the end of the hall.

"I'll check your wand sir." Adrian said when Ryou got to the security desk.

Ryou took out an old looking wand (it wasn't his) from his pocket and gave it to Adrian. The security desk person put the wand on a brass scale, after it was weighed a narrow strip of parchment out of the slit base.

"Nine inches, dragon-heartstring core, had been used for 26 years, correct?" Adrian asked.

"Yes," Ryou acted brightly.

"Here's your wand, pleasant day to you." He gave the wand back to Ryou with _tiny note slipped into his hand_.

When Ryou was out of the security desk's sight and Adrian who had just switched with another security guard, he opened the note…

-------------------------------

'_Ryou, Bakura, the Speech starts at 12:40 PM not 1: 00 PM, twenty minutes earlier! I've told Nash about it, he'll pass the news on to everyone else. You'll have to be quick to make the transaction and stealing on level nine. Adrian.'_

_-------------------------------_

-((Great, less time for me to steal! Hurry hikari!))- The tomb robber urged.

Ryou went straight to one particular lift (which he coded) of the twenty lifts and entered. No one was in it. He looked around to make sure no one was looking and put an 'Out of Order' sign outside. He pressed the button to the fifth floor. And the lift moved down.

'This is Ryou, over." Ryou pressed the translucent sticker camera slightly.

"I hear you loud and clear, over" Nash responded.

"Have you got every floor cloaked with an 'Out of Order' sign on it?" Ryou asked

"I've done it, all cloaking devices are online. They'll see you coming out of another empty lift which I synchronized its move with yours." Nash said. They had put the translucent sticker camera on every lift three days ago so that Ryou looked like he never used the coded lift.

"Good, how's everyone else?" Ryou asked.

"In position, Adrian is heading towards the main hall where the speech takes place with Justin and other security guards. Most of the guests are already in the hall. Lenny is in the PM office with Scrimgeour getting ready. And Steven has taken down all nine of the security guards with his 'Sleeping Wind' spell. Ethan's already on the files." Nash reported.

-((Nox is quick. We better hurry too.))- Bakura commented.

"Alright then, everything's all according to plan. This is Ryou signing out, over," the hikari ended the connection.

Now they were on the first target, the Unknown Prophecy of Destiny.

"_Level Five, Department of International Magical Co-operation, incorporating the International Magical Trading Standards Body, International Magical Office of Law and the International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats,"_ the lift announced.

-------------------------------------

_Inside the Ministry of Magic_

_Level Five, Dept. of International Magical Co-operation_

_11: 50 AM (Local Time)_

-------------------------------------

Ryou exited out of the lift finding a hologram of him coming from a lift next to him and walked into it and merging him with it. To a normal person it would look that Ryou had came out of one lift. He went straight to the International Magical Trading Standards Body Office, which also had a crystal ball pointing to a screen. Now it was clear that every floor must have one. He then quickened his pace to the desk closest to the exit on the left where a bald wizard was sittingBut next to the desk was another desk that had the Unknown Prophecy of Destiny, a Medallion shaped seal in an opened suitcase.

"Mr. Perkins, I'm Jason Nixon from Wizarding Tasty Chocolate and Sweets Co. in Switzerland I'm here to make a transaction from my employer Mr. Redwood. He wishes to sign you these parchments." Ryou acted fluently (after hours of practice at the sub base) opening his own suitcase and handed the papers to the ministry worker.

"Ah, yes. The papers are on time. Please sit down I'll check through this," Mr. Perkins said.

Ryou sat quietly as the wizard in front of him checked the papers and the got a thick folder out checking if the arrangements were legal. Of course thanks to Mr. Redwood himself, who was part of the OotS, this made a reason to visit the ministry much easier and less conspicuous. Especially that day there were many odd and unusual visitors from all over the world the world.

"All of this is legal. I'll get it signed straight away."

-((The clumsy worker should come in right now.))- Bakura said.

On cue, Darren, a clumsy worker was carrying a large pile of parchments that was over his head. It was going to tumble if he were not careful.

Ryou watched Darren from the corner of his eye. When the worker was just beside the desk to hold on support, Ryou flicked his finger, which was on his lap using some Shadow Magic in a way to make him trip and fall towards the desk.

And the Domino Affect happened. Darren fell on the desk and basically tipped the desk over sending down the prophecy with it.

"Darren! How can you be so clumsy?" Mr. Perkins shouted and sighed helping him lift the papers. There were other workers in the room who joined in.

Ryou also went to the floor acting helping picking up the papers. In a flash he swapped places with Bakura who then scurried around looking for the prophecy. When he saw it under a pile of paper he immediately snatched it and put it his cloak and at the same time replacing it with a 'fake' prophecy. Carefully he shoved more papers on top of it and went to the other side of the room picking up parchments as he went along. Five minutes later all the papers were on a neat pile and the 'fake' prophecy was back in the suitcase.

"You've dropped the prophecy five times so far! Please be careful next time!" Mr. Perkins warned. "Thank you Mr. Jason Nixon for helping." He thanked Ryou who was back in control.

"No problem," Ryou answered.

"Now, here are the legal papers, they're all signed. I'm sure Mr. Redwood would be happy." Mr. Perkins handed him the contracts and shook Ryou's hand.

"I'm sure he will be. Good day." Ryou smiled pleasantly.

"Good day to you as well Mr. Jason Nixon."

Ryou wasn't smiling pleasantly because the contracts were signed but rather there was a gladness the first part was over. He went back to the coded lift where he divided with his hologram that was going to the next lift.

"Nash can you hear me? Over," Ryou called to his only means of communication.

"I'm here, over. Have you got it?" Nash asked.

Ryou looked at the Medallion from his cloak and tested it with a tiny drop of Shadow Magic (They agreed not to use too much Shadow Magic). It did a slight flash.

"It's the original one! It reacted to Shadow Magic! I'm so glad I'm good in Transfiguration. I changed a brick into its perfect replica! Well that's one job over," Ryou sighed in relief.

"Good! Don't lose your focus. You still got the Prophecy Shards to steal. Everyone else is doing fine. All the guests are in the main hall and the Visitor's Entrance is packed with reporters and other people. You got about roughly 30 minutes to get ready to steal it." Nash explained.

"What? Thirty?" Ryou exclaimed. He looked to his watch, it was 12:10 PM. Collecting the papers took too much of his time.

"I've done un-synchronizing the lift next to you. It'll be up to Bakura fully to steal this one. Good Luck." The surveillance technician said.

"Thanks, it's all we need now. Ryou, signing out."

Bakura switch places with Ryou, turning to invisibility mode with the hologram make-up disguise. He slipped the nametag in his cloak and prepared himself.

"_Level Nine. Department of Mysteries."_

-----------------------------------

_Inside the Ministry of Magic_

_Level Nine, Department of Mysteries_

_12:13 PM (Local Time)_

----------------------------------

Bakura went into a run; he had to get this one over and done with quickly since the Prophecy Shards was deep inside and it would at least take 10 minutes to get to the room. Now, he'd most likely try to do it in 5 to 6 minutes. If not the whole plan might have to change. He quickly made through the department (It was same thing as the simulation) dodging guards who were walking around (he's still solid) to where the prophecy was hidden. He panted and only thought of his destination… He then went into a walk, tired of going door to door. "_Just one more turn and…"_

_Beep. Beep._

"Madam! Excuse me, Madam! What are you doing in here?" a security guard appeared behind him.

-(Madam?)- Ryou questioned. He looked at a mirror as they passed.

-((We're supposed to be invisible!))- Bakura exclaimed and took a left turn.

_The beeping sound meant something unintentionally had happened…_

-(Bakura, stop! Look onto the reflection of the water!)- His hikari cringed.

Bakura stopped and looked to a puddle of water caused by a broken ventilation shaft. His mouth gapped when he looked at…

'_An old ugly wrinkled plump fat lady who was wearing 1950s pink wooly fashion wear_…'

His hikari had a huge sweat drop on his head. _Ohhhh…my…_

-((Is that _ME_?))- The thief said still shocked at his reflection.

-(Of course it is _BAKA!_ (Stupid) We're doomed! The disguise thing _is broken!_)- Ryou shouted at his yami.

Bakura pressed the _hologram make-up disguise._

Click.

_It didn't work._

Click. Click.

_It didn't work again._

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

_Nothing happened._

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

_No reaction whatsoever._

-((Come on, you BAKA thing! Work Ra damn it!))- Bakura panicked.

"Madam, can you hear me?" the voice of the guard was _coming closer_... Then _he turned left_………..

-((Holy Shit…))-

--------------------------------------

_Inside the Ministry of Magic_

_In the Lift of the Secret Level_

_12: 25 PM (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------

Meanwhile, in Ethan and Steven's situation…

Ethan sat on the floor of the lift (still invisible), annoyed like hell.

He succeeded in stealing the files without being caught.

He had the files in his hand.

All the guards were taken out and tied.

They could finally finish the horrendous task of going through a labyrinth with TONS of codes.

He entered the lift gladly, because he went through FOUR DOZEN CURSES to get to the files.

Just when everything went too well...

'_The lift decided itself to brake down on him.'_

"Just BRILLIANT, at a time like THIS!"

Steven on the other hand was trying to make the lift work by jumping up and down the lift (in a solid wind form).

"Stop that! Are you _THAT daft_?" Ethan looked at the element master thinking he was abnormal.

"38…39…40… My lucky number is fifty. It _should_ work." Steven said for a moment and went back to jumping harder on the lift.

"Yeah…Right…" the soul summoner rolled his eyes.

"48…49…50…" the element master stopped then he showed out three fingers to Nox and counted down…3…2…1…

"_Ministry lift is operational. Please select which floor is your destination."_ The cool female voice said.

Ethan's jaw dropped to the floor.

Never…in his Professional Thieving Career…has he seen ANYTHING like THIS…

"So which floor, _legendary Nox_?" the Elemental Master mocked with a huge grin on his face.

------------------------------------

_Inside the Ministry of Magic_

_Level Nine, Department of Mysteries_

_12:13 PM (Local Time)_

----------------------------------

"Madam, can you hear me?" the voice of the guard was _coming closer_… Then he _turned left_………..

_He looked straight._

_He looked back. _

_Then he looked down._

"What are you doing here?" the guard asked.

………

………………

………………………

………………………………………

…………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………

………………………………………………

………………………………………

………………………

……

………

"Looking _for you _sir" Lenny the house elf said.

"Me? By the way did you see an old lady?" the guard asked.

"No, you haven't been drinking have you sir! The elf asked.

The guard was not happy and said' "Don't tell him I still drink!"

"Well you did see '_an old lady'_ when there isn't any here sir. The department is on a holiday sir! No old ladies here, only security guards. Master Scrimgeour will not be happy to hear this…" the elf sighed.

"Okay! I didn't see anything! What did you want with me anyway?"

"Mr. Scrimgeour requests _your presence now_ in main hall sir." Lenny said.

"Don't tell him anything about me seeing hallucinations!" he warned the house elf and left.

The guard departed…

……………………………………………

……………………………………………

And a grumbling irritable voice was heard from up the ceiling…

"_You- min- getting- me- down-…_" the tomb robber growled.

Trying to say something while your face was _literally stuck_ on the ceiling _can be…err… difficult…_

Lenny _snapped_ his fingers.

'_WHOMP!'_

Bakura _crashed_ to the _floor_…on _his back_… _that's gotta hurt…_

"Next- time- a little- _softer…_" Bakura groaned. _His hikari on the other hand was laughing into tears in his soul room._

-((Shut up! This is your body anyway!))- the yami snapped.

-------------------------

So what basically happened was…

When Bakura _nearly got caught…_

Lenny _happened t_o apparate there…

And _sent him up the ceiling…_

With a _Wingardium Leviosa Spell…_

--------------------------

Bakura got up (painfully) and looked at the elf. "At least I didn't get caught. Thanks. But not for the _sending me up and the landing bit_…" Bakura muttered.

"All a _coincidence_ Bakura sir. Scrimgeour _did request him_." The elf said.

"How do you know who I am?"

"Your disguise is broken sir. (Bakura is back as Ryou's body) Lenny brought spare one for you sir." Lenny said handing over an extra _hologram make-up disguise. _

"Thanks again."

"Hurry Bakura sir, speech starts soon." Lenny warned.

"_Crack!" _

Lenny left them and apparated to the main hall.

Bakura switched on the hologram make-up disguise to invisible mode, dashed to through the hallway to the very last door on the very edge. He peeked into it. There were about six guards in total stuck in gossiping about Scrimgeour succeeding Fudge speech and the Prophecy Shards in the middle of the room. Unlike Steven who could do sleeping spells, Bakura used a flat metallic cylinder device which Nash called the slide'n'sleep, a very useful device that makes sleeping gas invisible. Since the all the floors in the ministry were so smooth all Bakura did was activate it, opened the door slightly and slide it just under their feet. He carefully closed the door. And he waited...

_THUD... THUD..._

That's two down...

_THUD..._

Three...

_THUD, THUD._

Four, five... and the last...

_THUD._

Six!

He opened the door... and voila! They're all dead asleep! He even poked all of them to make sure. They'll be out for 8 hours. Bakura took one of their wands with gloves on his hands and used it to tie them up and put them all in a net. Next all their wands (six of them) were tied together and were placed on the other side of the room. This way they can't reach it. After all it was finished, his eyes took on the Prophecy Shards. He then looked at his watch, 12:37 PM. The speech starts in two minutes...

---------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Inside a Heaters Repair van a street away from the Visitor's Entrance of the Ministry_

_12: 37 PM (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

Nash sighed in relief that Lenny had gotten in just in time...to send Bakura to the ceiling.

As for the soul summoner and illusionist they managed to make the lift work. (Nash couldn't believe Steven had fixed it by jumping up and down.)

As for Justin and Adrian, at least nothing bizarre had happened.

Everything was all set... Adrian, Justin and Lenny were in the hall. Bakura was ready in place to steal the Prophecy Shards. Steven and Ethan were in the Visitor's entrance waiting in position amongst the crowd who were watching the screen. The illusionist opened the back door of the van and looked at the _Large M-Put Outer _that was on top an extension trailer connected to the van, hidden in a huge box covered with a heater picture. Through a hole made on the box, he switched it on.

He entered inside the back of the van again and focused his eyes on the monitors. Thirty seconds to the countdown of the last minute. Nash looked to the switches and found the _SOUND_ button for their communication on their translucent sticker cameras selected to 'ON'. He flicked the switch to 'OFF'. Giving advice with sound will most likely be overheard, so he went to the switch _THOUGHT SPEAK_ and switches it 'ON'.

All right. Can everyone hear me? Over/ Nash called.

At the end of the line he heard six responses they could hear Nash.

/A one minute countdown/ The illusionist told everyone.

But Scrimgeour had other ideas; he had already started the speech. "Ladies and Gentlemen…"

/What! Change of plan! I repeat! Change of plan/ Justin called out.

---------------------------------------

Inside the Ministry of Magic

Main Hall for the Speech

12: 39 PM (Local Time)

---------------------------------------

Adrian couldn't help feel awkward as his eyes drifted from the crystal ball light on the ceiling to the new PM who was making his speech. Scrimgeour had changed most of the plans for the speech every moment; it was starting to show that some of his closest officials knew he changed it without telling them. Justin had called out change of plan through his mind. All he could do now was wait for another instruction.

/Calm down! Change to plan B. I'm already in front of the prophecy shards. Lenny, wherever you are, just activate the M-Put Outer when he says 'I have succeeded Fudge' in his vow/ Bakura said.

/Yes sir! Lenny in kitchen with other elves sir, watching his speech/

Ethan, here. I'm near translucent sticker S-2, G-3. Over /

/Steven, here. I'm next to translucent sticker P-4, X-1. Over /

/Adrian, here. I'm two meters away from new PM, over /

/Justin, here. I'm ready to instruct the other Aurors and law enforcements, over. /

/Nash, here. I've put a beacon to Steven and Ethan's location. All the holograms from the translucent stickers are operational. Bakura, make the stealing quickly! Justin, Adrian, act out your parts. Remember, the M-Put Outer lasts for two and half minutes. And Lenny, we're all waiting for you. /

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_Inside the Ministry of Magic_

_The Ministry Kitchen_

_12: 43 PM (Local Time)_

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Lenny waited happily. The other elves would think he was waiting his master to be the next PM. But Lenny was waiting to destroy Scrimgeour's important day. The house elf hung to every word his ex-master said. And behind his ragged pillow case clothes he had his hand on the Switch. Steven the other day had knitted a pocket to carry the switch without making any suspicions. Lenny, unlike the other elves was standing far in the back. Now the vow was on the screen…

"…I have succeeded Fudge…"

Lenny pushed the button…

Then…

_Darkness…_

---------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Inside a Heaters Repair van a street away from the Visitor's Entrance of the Ministry_

_12: 45: 03 PM (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

/NOW/ Ethan commanded.

Nash flicked one switch, then another switch and seven solid holograms came out of the translucent stickers…

Of the images of Death Eaters in black cloaks…

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_Inside the Ministry of Magic_

_The Visitor's Entrance_

_12: 45: 03 AM (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------

_Everything in the Ministry went pitch black._

/NOW/ Ethan commanded.

"DEATH EATERS!" a shrill voice shouted.

On cue holograms of 'solid' Death Eaters came out shouting the _killing_ _curse…_

The visitor's entrance went into _chaos… screaming… crying… people running into each other…_

Many tried the Lumos Charm or any spell to give them light… but no avail…

In the darkness the random witches and wizards who were hit by the green light fell _one by one…_

But behind all of that, it was Steven and Ethan making targeted witches & wizards faint. Ethan was now in his soul form, similar to Steven's wind form knocking out a ministry worker who got hit in the back by the green light.

Steven was enjoying the game, Nash instructed which wizard/witch should faint next and he made them faint with a '_nudge'_ behind the neck.

The element master smiled gleefully how the Daily prophet was going to react…

------------------------------------

_Inside the Ministry of Magic_

_Level Nine, Department of Mysteries_

_12: 45: 30 PM (Local Time)_

----------------------------------

As the lights went out, the _night vision contact lens_ started working. The thief could see clearly in the dark and he bet all his friends could too. Bakura dashed towards the Shards and looked at it. It had been broken into large ten pieces and lots of tiny specs of glass. The M-Put Outer had dismissed the permanent curses on the Shards for only two and a half minutes. He immediately took a small case from his pocket quickly and carefully putting each piece inside. The larger ones were easiest to do. But the small ones took longer. If he had left one tiny spec of the Shards, the prophecy won't function if it were fixed. He might as well do his best…

A bead of sweat went down his face…and kept inserting pieces of the prophecy into the case while he kept his eyes on the time ticking on his watch …

---------------------------------------

_Inside the Ministry of Magic_

_Main Hall for the Speech_

_12: 46: 15 PM (Local Time)_

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The hall burst into frenzy as five Death Eaters shot out spells of the killing curse…

Justin leaded the Aurors to attack. At the same time he was still amazed how on earth Nash made them solid and makes them dodge spells while firing back fake killing curses. Lenny now disguised in an invisible hologram was on top of the crystal light ball that was turned off pointing and making people faint with the help of night vision contact lens. Adrian was by Scrimgeour's side, after saving him from a killing curse, Adrian acted to be his protector…

---------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Inside a Heaters Repair van a street away from the Visitor's Entrance of the Ministry_

_12: 46: 30 PM (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

While Nash gave directions to his friends, his eyes darted back and forth between the timer and the screen.

/ One and a half minute has gone! Only one minute left! I repeat ONE MINUTE/

------------------------------------

_Inside the Ministry of Magic_

_Level Nine, Department of Mysteries_

_12: 46: 30 PM (Local Time)_

----------------------------------

Bakura sighed that every single spec was in the case now… and checked for the last time he didn't leave anything. Satisfied, he zipped all his pockets and took out a _short-distance teleportation device_. He pushed the button and found himself near the lifts. But there were guards around. _At a time like this they had to show up… _As fast as he could Bakura let slide the sleeping gas device and waited as the guards went down.

Not bothering to tie them up, he swiftly took the device to one of his pockets and went through the lift door. Like the other Millennium item holders he had a specific ability and that was _going through walls or solid surfaces. _The lift wasn't operational, but it didn't mean it couldn't be used. This time Bakura flipped a cell phone out, pushed a special button and at the end two thin wires came out giving out energy. Kaiba had designed the phone that had enough power to charge an elevator. The lift moved towards the Visitor's Entrance.

---------------------------------------

_Inside the Ministry of Magic_

_The Visitor's Entrance_

_12: 46: 59 PM (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------

When Bakura got to the Level, he deliberately broke the lift, put his silver square badge on and went through the lift doors. The place was in mayhem. It seemed his two 'nutty' friends here were enjoying themselves. As time ticked, the holograms of the Death Eaters started to make their way to the departure fireplaces. Bakura switched with Ryou this time and switch to his hologram 'business wizard' form. Ryou ruffled the hologram to make the disguise look he had been in all of the commotion. He then looked at his watch…

12: 46: 23 PM … Seven more seconds …

7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0

The whole ministry was on again.

Many 'fainted' bodies lay on the floor…

Ryou of course acted in front of people who were also worried and scared that it was his worst day visiting the ministry. So he made his way through the hall with a grumpy mood. Other wizards who shared Ryou's idea had used the lift of the telephone box too. This was the opportunity for Ethan and Steven to get out.

Afterwards, Ryou got in the red telephone box and left the ministry himself with no trouble…

---------------------------------------

_Inside the Ministry of Magic_

_Main Hall for the Speech_

_01: 15 PM (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

Lenny was found 'cowering' behind an Auror, so his ex-master was not too happy and ordered him to get out and not see him until tonight. Lenny did so with no question. He didn't want to show how happy he was to ruin the new PM's day.

Adrian, who had saved Scrimgeour's life, got himself excused by the PM himself, as a reward he could have the day off. He left quietly through the 'red' box.

Justin on the other hand got a job spying if there were any Death Eaters around the muggle areas above the ministry, he will follow them. The Auror disappeared into the streets…

Nash who now knew everyone had left safely, driven his van away singing along with the song 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' on his radio into town…

---------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Starbucks Cafe_

_04: 00 PM (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

"_GOOAAAAALLLLLLLLL! Kaka scores! Just 5 seconds before timeout folks! Incredible play of Inzaghi and Kaka! AC MILAN HAS WON THE TITLE!" the television roared. _

The café burst into cheers and claps as fans and supporters who had red and black shirts of _AC MILAN _celebrated their soccer team's victory in the _Euro Finals._

Some of the tables sang in tune, while others toasted their caffeine shakes like '_We're Champs!' _or '_To AC Milan!'_

On one table, a 'particular group' of seven was toasting to 'Victory!'…

But no one in the café actually knew…

They were toasting…

For successfully stealing from the Ministry of Magic…

In 'broad daylight' that is…

TO BE CONTINUED…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

There you go! Another lovely long chapter! It was really fun to write this chapter!

My favorite part… Bakura's hologram brakes and turns him into '_An old ugly wrinkled plump fat lady who was wearing 1950s pink wooly fashion wear_…' (Laughs evilly)… and the ending of course…celebration in the most renowned caffeine café 'STARBUCKS'… (My personal favorite is the ice coffee mocha)

I don't know why the soccer Team AC Milan won all a sudden (or actually came up in the fic)… I guess I heard it too often from my friend who's really obsessed with AC Milan… Trust me when she (yes a girl…) talks about the Italian League soccer, there's no way stopping her mouth… I guess nearly everyone can relate to that (going to STARBUCKS that is!) …

**To gohan/videlgoten/trunkslover:**

Here's the update of the new chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! On updating chapters it'll most likely take at least 4 days (that's if I have a weekend to write it) or about one week and a half. It depends on the content of the story though. If it's important, I usually check it over and over. Reviews can or might affect what I might write. So I'm welcoming anyone if they have any ideas or opinions about the fic. Maybe you can make a difference, eh? Hope you keep reading this fic!

**To GG7989:**

'_Royal Order'?_ I wasn't really expecting that… hehe… I guess they kind of look 'royal' in a way (Chuckles)… '_Professional Royal Thieves'_… Yep, thief vacation for Bakura. And I bet his thieving skills went all rusty after battle city and all, so it needed to be re-polished when he gets to Hogwarts. Ocean's 11 is a good movie to watch if you want to get thieving ideas, it's very precise and comical. I've noticed in your profile you haven't made a fic yet. Not that I'm forcing you to. I mean, for me I kept on reading YGO x HP and other fan fiction for _two years without writing my own fic_. Trust me; I only reviewed other people's fics. (Yes, this fic is _my very first_!) There's nothing wrong about taking it slow. Well, for me I found it really worthwhile. From reading other fan fiction you can grasp many ideas, experience, different plots, and find your own '_identity'_ as a writer. From there you can even find your own original fic. It's longer than I thought it would take, but the _process and journey is priceless_. Just an advice from me as a '_fellow writer' (and to everyone else who's reading this)_, I hope you can make great fics as well! Thanks for reviewing!

**To Setoglomper:**

Yes, Bakura steals! And he succeeds! About the '_having the giant plot bunny for my story hang over a boiling pot of hot dogs'_ never mind, as a writer it's not easy (even at times, _hard_) making a palatable plot. I noticed that when I was writing this fic. Especially, when it's based on the sixth book. There are many things I want to put in, but I know I have to respect a few happenings of what J.K. Rowling made because it happened in the book. _Reality hurts, I know._ Short or very short, every review is worthwhile for me to reply at my best ability. Um... btw... thanks for putting this fic in your favorite stories on your profile (bows). I'm honored. I guess my next aim would be one of your favorite authors! I'll try my best! I hope you can contribute more ideas or opinions! Thanks a lot for reviewing again!

Next Chapter...

Chapter 5: The Meeting

Update 13/10/1006: Fixed up the italics... and a couple of minor things...


	5. Chapter 5: The Meeting

**Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows**

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be representatives of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything of YGO and HP in this fic (or food/drink merchandise or anything that are commonly known)...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J.K.Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

**I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:**

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book or any HP book _-text-_

Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

**AU notes:** Here we are! Another chapter! Sorry about the late update, schoolwork has been killing me for the last two weeks or so… I had hardly any sleep… I tried my best filling up this chapter bit by bit during those two weeks… and did some more research on the decks of characters in YGO! Not many of you might be familiar with Silent Magician (Yugi's card in the final duel) so this is Silent Magician's card characteristics…

English Name: Silent Magician

Japanese Name: Silent Magician Level 0

Stars: 4

ATK/DEF: 1000/1000

Type: Light/Effect

Family: Spellcaster

Effect: Level and ATK/DEF power are increased by 500 points for each draw of the opponent.

Note: So if Silent Magician is level 1 he has 1500/1500 points, level 2 would be 2000/2000 etc.

Well enough of me, on to the story!

Enjoy!

_**Chapter 5: The Meeting**_

-------------------------------------

_Unknown City, Unknown Country_

_Headquarters of the Order of the Shadows _

_Shadow Casters Meeting Room_

_Friday, 19th of August_

-------------------------------------

Yami sat on a chair in the meeting room alone, thinking about the latest updates from the main events that were happing in the Order so far. Somehow, the world seemed to be filled with prophecies that had to do with _'some evil trying to take over the world.'_Harry Potter was yet another _'Chosen One'_ (much like Yugi and co.) that had to be dragged in into the mess. Yami had to admit, being a 'Chosen One' is not easy, especially if they _branded_ the name on you in the Daily Prophet. Yami sighed and went back to reading the latest issue on the Daily Prophet.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

_**SCIRMGEOUR SUCCEEDS FUDGE**_

_**MINISTRY TURNS INTO CHAOS**_

Rufus Scrimgeour, previously Head of the Auror Office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, has succeeded Cornelius Fudge as the Minister for Magic. The wizarding community has largely greeted the appointment with enthusiasm. However during the appointment, uproar occurred in the Ministry, many sighting Death Eaters coming into the Ministry yet again. On the same day, the Prophecy Shards (On the Boy Who Lived) believed to have stated Harry Potter as the 'Chosen One', has been stolen under the heavy security on Level Nine in the Department of Mysteries.

According to another department, Department of International Magical Co-operation in its International Magical Trading Standards Body, another prophecy has been substituted with a fake one that soon turned into a brick four hours later. The real Prophecy, which was named the Unknown Prophecy of Destiny, was taken at the same point when the appointment occurred. Whatever lies in the prophecy is unknown, for the ministry never had a chance to look at it. Things had gotten more ugly when the new Prime Minister's files which is believed to be his plans to go through the new developments of the wizarding world, has also been stolen from the Secret Level that was heavily guarded with security guards and four dozen curses that kept the files safe. Many who witnessed the Death Eaters think that He Who Must Not Be Named wishes to be a step ahead of the Ministry of Magic.

Most Aurors would think otherwise, they believe that the thieves were using the Death Eaters name to create havoc during the Scrimgeour's appointment to the top job. This was proved after the mayhem that none of the guests were found dead (only have fainted) and there was no dark mark around the Ministry premises. But whoever stole all three objects from the ministry of magic still bothers the Aurors today for they have left no evidence at all. There is a chance the thieves maybe in league with He Who Must Not Be Named, but there is also a rising fear within the Ministry that they might be another group who wishes to strike fear into the wizarding community. Many of the ministry officials are also investigating how the thieves had managed to shutdown all magical sources throughout the whole ministry, which left everything in darkness. Whatever Spell or Charm, the thieves had used it is believed to be some form of Dark magic. There are also news of a rift between Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, surfaced within hours (cont. page 3 column 2)

-----------------------------------------------------------

Yami couldn't help but chuckle at Bakura's achievement in stealing. Now all he had to do was wait what story was behind all of it and everyone else's story of what they have been doing the past few weeks. Yami had looked to his watch again, it was 10:00 PM in Japan. It was not a surprise his hikari was sleeping in his soul room. Yugi had done most of the packing to get ready for Hogwarts tomorrow. Yami had insisted to help, but Yugi advised Yami that he'd rest for the main meeting. The darker half was glad for this, since the main meetings usually have all the members would attend.

But with the Unknown Prophecy of Destiny unsealed, only the Masters or leaders of each branch were allowed to attend. Minori had work to do so she couldn't come. So Yami filled in. _Looks like I'm going to send them the bad news about the prophecy._ It wasn't really easy digesting such information; even Kaiba was not too pleased to hear about it. Well, most likely now he's briefing about the prophecy with the other _illusionists._ He'll come within an hour…with everyone else. Yami looked and held to the glass filled with water in front of him, it seemed warm. He focused, the glass fogged up, and partially the water froze. Yami smiled and drank the cool water soothing his throat. _Being an element master had its advantages. _Yami had to admit he was glad that both he and Yugi were able to use the special ability; it meant they didn't have to rely on using Shadow Magic or using normal wizarding magic that needs a wand. Plus his magic senses were far sharper now, which gave him a skill to know whether a person near him was a wizard or not.

Yami's eyes darted from the few newspapers on a pile beside him. He had read all the info on them from _'HARRY POTTER: THE CHOSEN ONE?'_ to _'MINISTRY GUARANTEES STUDENTS SAFETY'_ to the purple leaflet emblazoned with the words: _Issued on Behalf of the Ministry of Magic PROTECTING YOUR HOME AND FAMILY AGAINST THE DARK FORCES._ Much to Yami's knowledge he didn't find the leaflet useful. His elemental magic was enough to protect him against the killer curse, he doubt he'll use Shadow Magic. But if he had to go against a group of Death Eaters he'll most likely send them off to the Shadow Realm.

--------------------------------------

_Headquarters of the Order of the Shadows _

_Shadow Casters Meeting Room_

_Friday, 19th of August_

_2 hours later…_

--------------------------------------

The meeting had been going on for an hour, news from here and there. All the members sat in seats along the long wooden table. Minori and Yugi (he's awake now) sat at the edge as the heads of the branch. Tea, Yuri and Septi voicing in from the Daily Prophet, Joey and Tristan about things around London, Malik and Marik info that Severus Snape was a double agent, Kaiba, Seth, Kisara and Minori about Prime Minister Richard Williams joining the OotS, Ryou and Bakura what happened in the Ministry _(everyone laughed when Ryou told that the tomb robber was in a old fat lady with pink fashion wear disguise, leaving a very red faced thief)_, more information from other members and finally Yami had all told them about the Unknown Prophecy of Destiny. The room went in total silence for ten minutes. It wasn't really an easy prophecy to listen if you had something to do with it.

Kaiba was first to break the silence, he told everyone what necessary steps were taken by the Illusionists. Soon the meeting room burst into discussion again. Many who were giving their opinions of any solutions while other members listened and gave feedback if the solutions were credible to be used. The ones that were really quiet during the meeting were Yami, Yugi, Seto, Seth, Minori and Kisara. As Masters of a branch in the OotS they mainly observed other people, while in their own minds made plans that surely could benefit everyone. The meeting ended that to Yami and Seth's decision that they needed more information, with the info they had now there was not much they could do. If they act too quickly it would do more harm than good. Thus the next thing to do was _Phase Two: Infiltrate Every Group_.

---------------------------------------

_Headquarters of the Order of the Shadows_

_Shadow Casters Meeting Room_

_Friday, 19th of August_

_After the Meeting…_

-----------------------------------------

The meeting room was rather empty now. All was left inside was Malik, Ryou and Yugi with their Yamis in spirit form. There were a few untidy piles of paper on the desk they were sitting in now. The new transfers had stayed behind to discuss about their transfer and at the same time infiltration into Hogwarts. This mission was important to get info on the Dark lord's background but also get info on _the Order of the Phoenix_. It was another Order that was created to fight the Dark lord but sadly ineffective because Snape was one of its members. Basically they were now discussing about their NEWTs subjects…

"So how many subjects can we take for NEWTs in Hogwarts?" Malik asked.

"At most seven. It's interesting they don't make Muggle Studies as a compulsory subject. And even Science doesn't exist." Yugi answered while scanning the paper that had info on NEWTs.

"Well, it's not Japan. You remember our other test results that weren't in the ministry curriculum came earlier? I mean it still had Maths, Chemistry, Physics, IT and Biology in it! Professor Ryu's curriculum is slightly different. He wishes that the wizards could understand more about Technology and Science." Ryou added.

-((Let me correct that. Wizards and Witches who are students in Japan _know what Science is and how Technology works. _I mean come on! They're still writing on _'parchments'_ in Hogwarts? We're already _using computers_ in a magic school!))- Marik voiced in.

-((What does it matter? At least it'll give us an advantage over them.))- The tomb robber spoke up.

-((I think what Marik means is that _they_ should be in front of us.))- Yami said.

Malik looked at the ex-pharoah, "Meaning?"

-((They are in the central of the whole wizarding world. Like in a city, the city should be more modern than a village right? It seems to be happening in reverse from what we're looking at right now.))- Yami explained.

"I wonder what's causing all of this." Ryou said wondering.

-((The Dark Lord?))- The tomb robber muttered absently.

"Partly." Yugi said. "From the information on the papers we have here there's a lot of racism going on. Especially those who are pure blood, they deny those who are muggle born. Even some ministry's official's completely loath half-breeds."

They all gave a big sigh. _Things are getting more complicated._

"And I thought it would be a lot more different in the main wizarding world." Ryou said.

-((Hikari, you're so naïve. Have you ever heard _'different' _could also mean_ 'worse'_?))- Bakura barked.

"Okay, back to the subjects we're going to take. What _should_ we take?" Malik looked at all of them.

-((I'm saying the most important ones we should take are Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions and Care of Magical Creatures.))- Yami suggested.

-((Looks like the pharaoh read my mind. Five down, two left.))- The darker tomb keeper said.

"I think the last two should be something we're specialized at. So we can get into different classes to get more info on Hogwarts." Ryou suggested.

Yugi nodded. "Sounds fair, if they're expecting us as transfers for being excelled students, we should be flexible."

However Bakura had something else in mind. –((Yes! No pharaoh in my favorite lessons!))- He said happily.

Yami's eyes went sharper looked at Bakura –((Don't even _think of getting yourself into a mayhem thief._))-

-((Is that _'a threat'_ O Mighty Pharaoh?))- The thief challenged.

-((An_ advice_, you could do a lot more exploring during the night if _teachers think you're not a troublemaker_.))- Yami stated.

-((Deal! Somehow I like how your mind works now. Bless the coming of the Millennium Charm! I'll take your advice o noble one! Hogwarts here I come!))- Bakura did a mock bow and grinned with delight.

"Yami, your not _really serious_ suggesting that to Bakura are you?" Ryou asked unsure.

Yami of course smiled and said absolutely nothing. But Malik knew all too well what the 5000-year-old pharaoh was thinking.

The tomb keeper put his arm around Ryou's shoulder then said quietly in his ear, "Hey Ryou, you really want him going all crazy _in class or at night_?" Malik asked him with a grin.

Images of a _'destroyed class room'_ with _'Bakura laughing manically'_ went through Ryou's head.

"I'll go for the night one." Ryou said weakly.

-((Good one!))- Marik said and high-five with his hikari.

"Back to subjects…I'll go for Herbology and History of Magic." Yugi announced.

"Hmm, Ancient Runes and Artithmancy for me." Malik said.

"I doubt nothing interesting happens in Muggle Studies here. So I'll take Astronomy and Divination." Ryou concluded.

-((That's about NEWTs subjects, anything else?))- Marik asked.

-((How about getting to know our teachers?))- Yami pointed out.

-((That's a start. Getting to know who's darn warty ugly))- Bakura commented.

"Okay, first one." Malik said as he read the paper in his hand. "Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor, and our Transfiguration teacher."

For the next few minutes it was all about the staff in Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall as they found out was also the one who wrote their transfer letters to Hogwarts. She seemed to be very strict but if one obeyed and was best at her subject, it would not be a problem. Next there was Professor Flitwick, a small sized ancient wizard who taught Charms and Head of Ravenclaw. No problems there. Professor Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff and teacher in Herbology was also clean from trouble. Professor Bins, for History of Magic, Yugi still wanted to take the subject though the professor _had a famous title to make his students sleep in class_. Teachers from Artithmancy, Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes had no odd cases. Hagrid who was half-giant was teaching Care for Magical Creatures, _At least we can meet him before the other teachers Ryou thought._ There was Professor Sinistra for Astronomy… usual get-everything-done and good grades type teacher. Professor Trelawney and Firenze the Centaur taught Divination (Malik muttered something about he preferred his sister's proclamation of doom to the world than Trelawney's voice he heard from the Prophecy Shards that was fixed.). For Potions and Head of Slytherin, Professor Snape…

"I smell trouble from him. More or so _he is the double agent_ after all." Malik pointed out.

"But according to my papers there might be this new teacher called Professor Slughorn who'll be taking Potions. And Professor Dumbledore would most likely persuade him back to Hogwarts. There can't be two potion masters." Yugi said.

Ryou peered over Yugi's paper. "I think Snape will take DADA instead this year." The half-Brit said.

-((What! Looks like I have to act nice in DADA…No! Damn it! He _just had to teach _one of my favorite subjects!))- Bakura muttered.

-((You could classify him being _'the extremely ugly'_ out of whole the lot.))- Marik added.

-((He's bound to be teaching us in DADA. His records state that he's been trying to take the subject for five years or more. I doubt he'll waste this opportunity to be teaching the subject. Plus, Professor Dumbledore trusts him. His wish is granted.))- Yami sighed.

"Hmm, anyone else?" Ryou asked.

"Argus Filch and Mrs. Norris, the caretaker and his cat are the ones who make sure about the rule breaking don't go out of hand." Yugi read.

"Sounds like you better have plenty of tricks up your sleeves Bakura." Malik grinned.

-((Don't worry. Filch can have his fun, but the cat won't be safe from me…))- Bakura grinned evilly.

-((As long as you don't blow our cover thief.))- Yami said.

-((Leave it to the King of Thieves!))-

-----------------------------------

_Domino, Japan_

_Ryou Bakura's Apartment_

_Saturday, 20th August_

_01: 30 AM_

----------------------------------

Ryou opened the door of his apartment sleepy and tired from the meeting. He went in locked the door behind him and made his way to his own bedroom. At a moment there he felt glad that he packed his luggage before the meeting. Much of his luggage covered the bedroom floor, and his small black owl 'Apophis' (named after the Egyptian god of night) hooted quietly in his cage on top of his study desk. As for his yami… most likely he was asleep in his soul room.

The half Brit teen hadn't really expected they were on the mission to 'save the world' yet again. The last duel tournament involved parts of the magic world and the duel monster world being intertwined. But that was still based on a tournament, which meant their enemies could be defeated in a duel of cards. But this time, things were much different. Everything was based purely on magic, no duels; only the matter who uses the opportunity of who does the surprise attack first. Or in other words, war. He sighed, and lied down on his bed thinking of what had happened so far.

Even after getting into Yami's memories and trying to kill Yugi and Co. somehow everyone forgave Bakura. It clearly showed that everything needed time to heal and sort itself out but Ryou didn't expect it to happen quite quickly. The most recent thing that surprised Ryou was that his yami was becoming more 'human' than before. Somehow he had to thank Minori for that. If the Millennium Charm made Yami's darker side came back, somehow it also made the thief much like a human he was before 5000 years ago in Egypt. Bakura now was more opened, though his sadistic side didn't wear off the hikari knew too well that Bakura was a good person at heart…_well… not like the thief would admit it anyway… that would be like throwing away his thief pride…_

Much to the hikari's dismay he still could get into trouble by Bakura's doing… What would he explain to his teachers then?

'_My Yami did it.'_

That… was… pretty blunt…

Ryou rolled his eyes doubting as if that reason was logical enough to make anyone believe he had a spirit of the King of Thieves that could switch and take control of his body freely … _"I hope Yami knows what he's getting himself into…"_ Ryou thought.

The hikari closed his eyes and slept…

………………………………

_Inside the Millennium Ring_

_Bakura's Soul Room_

………………………………

Bakura smiled happily in his soul room wondering about all the new routes he was going to explore in Hogwarts. And after knowing about Argus Filch the caretaker was going into his way, things somehow got better for this thief. Hogwarts had new places to explore, new people to meet and _of course more people to steal from. _He never told his hikari he had gotten special 'gifts' from his close 'Thief Friends' as a temporary parting gift. What they were his hikari and the others will find out soon enough…

The oddest feeling that the tomb robber felt now was _gladness_ and maybe… having feelings again… and well uh… to be human? Bakura shook his head, seemed like Ryou's softness was getting into him. Before the Millennium Charm came along he would have denied all of that, but now… he had an ability that he hadn't had in a long time…

_Ability to Accept… _

Fine… he had his 'human emotions' back but he'd rather serve his life in Azkaban than say it in front of everyone. The thing that surprised the tomb robber the most was the Pharaoh's behavior. It was odd seeing him not complaining about how the tomb robber acted, but the Pharaoh ordering him _to steal_? Now… that's something he would have been on his _'utterly impossible thing to see list'…_ he wondered how the Pharaoh's hikari took on the change… Life has its twists and turns. Even after the meeting the tomb robber wanted to thank the Pharaoh but his pride got in the way, just when he wanted to say something or _anything_ of gratitude letting him steal (which is his life force) Yami had beaten him to it…

"_I know. You don't have to say it tomb robber. Your pride won't let you, I'm sure of it." The pharaoh laughed. "Heal the past, live the present, and hope for the future as many people say. Whatever happened in the past let it go. Now… you're my rival and…a friend._

_Bakura scoffed. _

"_Don't look at me like that Thief; you look a lot better being your sadistic self. I think Ryou would agree as well." Yami chuckled at Bakura's confused face._

Damn that Pharaoh, always messing with his mind, but then again… 'Change' somehow… _felt good_… At least Yami now was able to tolerate his weird acts and even stealing from people plus from high level security places… _oooooooookaaaaayyyyy…_ maybe the stealing part is still a _tad_ harder to accept but…at least it was a 'brighter future' there…

……………………………………….

_Ryou's Bedroom…_

……………………………………….

The thief extracted himself from the Ring, as expected his hikari was asleep and didn't bother putting up his sheets. Without even thinking Bakura simply waved his hand and the blanket automatically covered Ryou. Wait! … What was _He_ doing! ...

'_Arrrrrrrggggghhhhh! I can't believe I just did that!'_ Bakura thought as he cringed inwardly.

At first he wanted to uncover his hikari but then…_he stopped_… and looked at his hikari sleeping peacefully…

Should he take the blanket down or not?

_Yes._

_No._

_Yes._

_No._

_Yes…_

_No…_

_Well err…_

_You know…_

_Uh maybe … _

_But… _

_I could… _

_But then…_

'AW ALL RIGHT I GIVE UP! Geez, I'm getting too soft… He wins… _for now_… but Hogwarts will be a different story…', the tomb robber sighed having a regret he now had less control of his emotions.

"Maybe I should start asking or _even take lessons_ from Marik about how to be a _'fully fledged Yami'_ again." Bakura thought before going back to the Ring into a deep slumber.

---------------------------------------

_Cairo, Egypt_

_Malik's House_

_Afternoon (Local Time)_

----------------------------------------

Unlike everyone else in Japan, Cairo was pretty much blazing in its hot summer weather. Malik of course was really glad he was inside his cool house away from the heat. After his family's responsibility had been fulfilled of reawakening of the Pharaoh's memory life he, Isis, Rishid and Bazil had moved into a house with four separate rooms, starting life as a family. It was pretty an odd family at that but he enjoyed having them accompany him.

Bazil worked as one of the museum guards and was also a ministry worker who worked in the Department of Mysteries. After being chosen by the Millennium Key, he had worked hard to help Yugi and co. uncovering information and even erasing every bit of info on the M items. He had worked even harder when he had heard his ancestors (Karim who owned the Millennium Scales) had also took part being in helping the Pharaoh who ruled one of the most powerful magic empires in magical history. Bazil was a dedicated man, and for certain Malik had a feeling that his sister was falling for him. Not that he disagreed. More or so he felt happy that his sister didn't have to worry about him any more and start a new life. The tomb keeper was pretty sure Rishid agreed with him as well, as for his elder brother had admitted to Malik that it had been a long time he hadn't seen Isis smile more often.

Another thing that had been weird was his yami, Marik. The malice, hate, and anger part of him had disappeared which he was glad for. But he couldn't help wondering why they (whoever are the gods) didn't erase the mischievous part. Well a hikari's got to do what he has to do… _'Make sure the yami doesn't go out of control…'_

About packing… he had done it ages ago… now there was not much to do… _'Mont'_ his falcon (named after the ancient Egyptian falcon headed God of War) had gone off hunting in the streets most likely return later… he'd better find some sort of leisure to distract him, especially with the snoring from his yami's soul room and the info from Yami on why the Unbreakable Vow was changed still fogged his mind … Well he might as well go to the Souq (the Arabic name for a market) to refresh his mind off… well a modern one at that… since they have ACs inside to get rid of the heat.

---------------------------------------

_Headquarters of the Order of the Shadows_

_OotS Hallway_

_Friday, 19th of August_

_After the last brief meeting… _

-----------------------------------------

Yugi had already gone to sleep in his soul room. Well more specifically Yami had put a sleeping spell on his light. His hikari needed the rest, for Yugi's mind most likely won't take in more information. Being a leader of a branch, Yami had to stay behind to get more details on their infiltration to Hogwarts. He walked alone in the hallway, feeling somehow he was going to miss being at headquarters. The greatest thing he would miss was the people around the Order, they were an odd bunch but yet when they joined together you could say they were pretty undefeatable. One last corner and he should teleport back to Domino…

'_THUMP!'_

_Well that's if he hadn't been flattened by someone on the wall first…_

Slightly dazed, Yami tried to stand, but there was weight on him or more specifically Septi who was using Yuri's body on him and Yuri giggling at the comical scene in spirit form from the opposite hallway. But what surprised him the most as his vision cleared; there were his best friends all waiting for him, Joey, Tea, and Tristan.

"What are you all doing here?" Yami asked.

"Waiting for you two," Tristan smiled.

"How's Yugi?" Tea asked.

-("Is he alright?)- Yuri added.

Yami was silent, but gave them an understanding look.

"I believe the weight of his grandfather's life is getting heavier?" Septi frowned.

Yami only nodded.

Joey came up to his friend and gave him a rub on the back, "Come on. Let's go back to Domino."

As they walked towards one of the halls that lead to a portal for Domino, they talked about the Order, missions, and how their lives were going… but… without Yugi… things were too quiet. The thing that maybe all of them missed was Yugi's laughter and cheerfulness amongst them. Unlike the Duelist Kingdom where Grandpa's soul was taken, there was a definite target and place to rescue the 'elder' duelist… but now…

_Whoever they were facing now still was a mystery…_

According to the sources around the spies of the Order the M items were targeted because they had a quality that the Dark Lord liked, there are seven items in all. Seven being a very powerful magic number of luck that said can grant immense power over others. But luckily, Bazil had gone into the Department of Mysteries partially erasing and even stole all the documents that had to do with the M items. Even Minori had done an 'Erasing Charm' a very difficult spell that erased all the pictures and the memories of its owners that had Yugi wearing the Puzzle around his neck. Risky, but if Voldemort was very eager to go for the M items more victims would fall.

So far, there was no information regarding the last two of the Orichalcos seals that was found on Sugoroku Motou's arm. This was probably what had bothered the lighter half of the Pharaoh. All his friends knew that Grandpa was Yugi's last and only relative left, if he died they doubt that Yugi would be able to accept that he was gone. For now, Yugi wasn't ready to accept that situation yet.

-------------------------------------

_Domino, Japan_

_A Street toward the Kame Game Shop_

_2: 00 AM (Local Time)_

-------------------------------------

Joey and Yami walked silently towards the shop, wondering what the future in store for them. When they entered the magic world a year ago a 'real magic' duel tournament had occurred and victims fell. Now they were going into the center of it all, and without a doubt things could get worse. And the chances things can get better we're pretty slim.

Yami reached behind his belt from not one deck pouch but two and looked at the two cards in his hand. His was Dark Magician and Yugi's Silent Magician, represented their personalities the most. Dark Magician with a standard powerful attack and defense and had the dark element much like Yami's strong and commanding personality. While Silent Magician weak in attack and defense had a special ability to increase ATK/DEF 500 points for each card of the opponent draws which had a light element, much like Yugi who may seem weak in the beginning but can be powerful as his opponent. He only sighed and hoped that Yugi's grandfather could be helped, for Yugi's sake. The finally reached the shop, and said their goodbyes.

"Oh yeah, here, give these to Yugi." The taller teen gave Yami a bunch of letters.

"Who are these from?"

"From all of us." Joey smiled. "Make sure Yugi reads them when he gets to Britain alright?"

"Of course I will." Yami nodded.

"And one of them is for you from Septi. Make sure you separate that one." Joey chuckled as Yami's face went slightly into a shy shade of pink. With that Joey left and walked back into the dark streets.

Yami watched as his friend disappear, as long as his friends were around, at least they went on the journey together.

'Now, where's that letter from Septi…' The pharaoh thought as he entered the shop and closed the door behind him.

TO BE CONTINUED…

------------------------------------------------

Huahaha (laughs evilly) Bakura is getting too soft! Poor him… but he will still have his sadistic side though.

More info on the Ishtar family, and uh… Egypt…

And Yami and friends get together… Yugi must be pretty hurt… maybe I'm too evil…

Phew, finally another chapter done! Like I said above… I'm very busy these days… but hey, I'll try to keep posting chapters every now and then…

You most likely want to hear when can we get to Hogwarts right? Well not anytime soon though… But don't worry we'll get there!

Now for review feedback!

**To theOldOne:**

I haven't heard from you for a while but as an author I want to thank you for getting Karim's (the original owner of the M Scales) name for me! Told you I give you a credit eh? It made it easier to explain about Bazil's status in the Ishtar family. We'll have to Bazil soon won't we? Or maybe not… But he will have his own role in this fic! Hope your still reading this fic!

**To Tira's Host:**

I know! Bakura looking like an old lady… I got the idea when my class was analyzing ads of stereotypical fashion wear during the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. It's weird to see them right now they were the 'trend' of the decade then… Then I thought, I wonder what happened if Bakura's disguise broke…And there you have it!

**To Yamiace1321:**

Thanks! This is chapter is done! I know the fun stuff hasn't come up yet, but please be patient. About Yami and Yugi meeting Harry well… that's going to happen a little bit later on. Most likely before school starts… If you got any idea's or suggestions just fire away! Thanks for reviewing this fic! I'll try my best to get to Harry and co. as soon as I can!

**To gohan/videlgoten/trunkslover:**

This is my update! Sorry for this late update! Been busy with all the work at school… I got tons of essays this week… T T … Anyways, I'll try to get the next chapter done at least before mid September. Btw… you're a Dragon Ball fan aren't you? I like Trunks as well… one of my fav characters in DB! It'd be nice you suggest ideas in your review. Thanks for reviewing anyway!

**To Slyer:**

Sorry, I admit I overdid it in the fourth chapter. Thank you for mentioning this! Some writers might take mistakes into heart but I'll take it as a lesson. We're on ff net to learn from our mistakes and improve as a writer. If my grammar or spelling sucks then please forgive since English is not my first language but I will try to fix them to best of my ability. Thanks for helping out! Hope you keep reading this fic!

**To Setoglomper: **

Bakura in a dress… Now, come to think of it I can't even believe I wrote it myself! I don't know what happened to me during history class (chuckles)… not that I was bored though… It's okay… But I'm still happy I'm in your fav list anyhow. Yoda? Hahaha… I'm quite fond of Star Wars myself really but I don't intend to write a fanfic. Though maybe I should start trying to use 'the force' to get more ideas to develop the plot…hahahaha…

**To GG7989:**

Yup in the OotS we've got muggle Special Effects! Lenny's an OC I made specially for this fic we might see him again in this fic, but that'll later on in the story. He'll make havoc then I promise you, Bakura will just have to hope he won't be lifted again to the roof…hahahaha…About the Pharaoh… since the info on the M items are erased only a 'few' will remember… who? You'll have to find out… About writing… I like SG-1 and HP crossovers as well, the last SG-1 crossover with YGO hasn't been updated recently, but I'll have to wait anyway… Thanks for reviewing! Hope you keep reading this fic!

**To Shyraz: **

Whoa! I never really thought this fic was a pretty high ranked on your hit list! Thank you so much! I wanted this fic to be original to make a different colour out of YGO/HP fics, than not knowing about the Voldemort completely I wanted to make Yugi and co. know nearly everything about the magic world and its dark lord. That's why I made them attend the Japanese magical school branch first.

About Yami, I wanted him to find his darker side in this fic. But I didn't want to make his good side fade away so I would say Yami has more _'tolerance'_ for the other yamis. So you could say he lets them have their way to a degree but he usually does that because he has a reason to let them. Houses? I'm confused in that one…It's hard since there an Order, should they spy in each house or one particular house? Well I can't say really… I'll deal with that when we get to the sorting…

Bakura acting human again… well… since Yami had his darker side back I wanted the opposite happening to our fav thief… like in this chpt! (chuckles)… He's a spirit like Yami but I think he's still pretty much human.

About format, I wanted it to be some what like a novel and play, easier to read and adds in the thrill… I was kind of stuck in this chapter because I had so much work from school… well there you go… Author in 'stuck mode'. Thank you for reviewing! Hope you keep reading this fic!

Next on HP, HBP, and the OotS…

Yugi, Ryou, Malik and their yamis in Diagon Alley…

Watch out Seto Kaiba fans! He'll make an appearance in the next chapter!

The next chapter:

_Chapter 6: 'The Infiltration'_


	6. Chapter 6: The Infiltration

**Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows**

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be representatives of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any thing of YGO and HP in this fic (or food/drink merchandise or anything that are commonly known)...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J.K.Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

**I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:**

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book or any HP book _-text-_

Upcoming paragraph (s) to do with emails, articles or flashbacks _Text_

Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

**AU notes:**

Hey…I'll have to admit this chapter is pretty darn late…sorry for the late update. It's kind of hard what to put in they were going to Diagon Alley. Especially I made some notes that I tried not to interfere too much with the main story line.

Oh yeah, there's an additional note on the _'every chapter note'_ above, that emails, articles or flash backs will be begin and end with _Text_ for your comfort. Since I found many people complaining it, I changed the story format a bit but I'm happy at least many told me about it. But I'm definitely not going to stop this fanfic that I can assure you. Chapters might be updated quite late but in return I'll make them longer. This chapter for example is about 6000 words without the AU Notes or the feedback of reviews.

Enough of me… On with the story!

Enjoy!

_**Chapter 6: The Infiltration**_

--------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Inside a Limo heading to a branch of Kaiba Corp. in London_

_Morning (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------

Seto Kaiba sipped his coffee while his right hand blurred typing across his laptop on a business transaction in London. Morning traffic had occurred, not that the CEO minded since in his own country morning traffic was far from 'normal'. As for his younger brother, Mokuba was hooked playing a videogame that was installed in the limo. And lastly, his 'darker self' in spirit form was sitting next to Mokuba from time to time giving hints and advices how to beat a boss.

Seto had to admit, his 'family' yet had another extension with the coming of his yami. The yami was annoying when he wanted everything in his own way, but in contrast Seth had always looked out for Mokuba when the CEO was busy in business meetings. Well, at least his darker half called him by name, not that Seto would tolerate being called a 'hikari'. In a way, Seth represented much of the CEO's personality which surprised Seto. One of them being to negotiate with very stubborn stock holders and businessman effortlessly and when the CEO was in a dead end of an agreement the former priest would give advice which made more sense than his own advisors. Also, Seth had a large curiosity for gadgets sometimes reading new thick text books on electronics or simply by watching how Seto worked.

When he first received his yami, Seto felt violated and furious when the yami took over his body without permission. It was like losing his independence to do what he wanted. But as time went by… Seto learned how to tolerate his yami. And that was with the help of Minori…

Minori Lorenzo, a half Italian and Japanese architect and the first girl Seto had loved.

Much like Seto, she was young, talented and like many successful people, ambitious in achieving a goal. But what made her different from Seto was her cheerfulness. Somehow she was able to make Seto feel his own feelings again before he was ever adopted by his stepfather. She also understood what it was like to work for a large company. Even though later Seto was able to tolerate his yami, his yami wasn't listening to him. For that one, Kisara stepped in and so nothing of trouble happened since then.

So much for being a Millennium item holder… And quite recently, a _wizard_.

Magic? That was probably the most unexpected thing that was considered as 'fact' in the world of business, economy and more or so technology. When he first got his letter to a magic school... he had said _'the world had gone insane',_ but now… it was more of 'the world makes more sense'. There was some sort of gladness in the CEO he had been accepted to the Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School than Hogwarts. The school in Seto's opinion was far 'modern' than the best of magic schools like Hogwarts. Also, he respected the headmaster, Professor Ryu for comparing and combining 'magical aspects' with 'science'. It wasn't an easy thing to do in a world where most wizards were clueless about muggle objects, but in the end even the students of pureblood families in Japan found muggles were special in their own way. But the most important thing was at least he wasn't separated from _any_ technological devices, he wouldn't know what to do then or more accurately he wouldn't survive if there were no laptops around.

---------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Kaiba Corp branch in London_

_Morning (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

Seto, Mokuba and Seth made their way from the car park to the entrance of the lift with the 'two' body guards. One of them was Isono the right-hand man, Seto's most faithful bodyguard and secretary who refereed the final duels of Battle City. The other was Nash from the _Illusionists, _who Seto recently taken under his wing in KC. The technician certainly had taken Seto's attention with his skills, thus Seto had welcomed him to KC to be his left-hand man for his specialty in surveillance systems.

That morning would've been a usual one, that's when Seto felt an odd presence around the parking lot. The CEO looked to his yami who seemed to felt the same thing. One thing for sure both the former priest and the CEO knew that there was a magic signature of two wizards behind the limo they were in that was ten meters away from them…

"Isono, take my briefcase in my office. Mokuba, I want you and Nash, go to the surveillance room now." The CEO gave a direct command.

Isono was slightly confused with his master's immediate order, but he was wise enough not to go against the CEO's order. For Mokuba and Nash they knew something from the magic world was here right now. All of them quickly walked towards the elevator, Mokuba only gave his older brother a 'be careful' look and followed the two bodyguards. All was left now was Seto and Seth in the parking lot.

-((Death Eaters))- Seth stated.

Seto nodded, the magic signatures were threatening and dark.

-(To the metal waste room. It's easier to handle things there.)- The CEO suggested.

-((Agreed.))-

--------------------------------------

_Metal Waste Room_

_KC Branch in London_

--------------------------------------

Marty followed the muggle CEO with a few of his fellow Death Eaters, planning to put an Imperious Curse on him as soon as possible. The Ministry had expected they would target the muggle government officials, so the Death Eaters now had to lay low. But it didn't mean they were going to sit and do nothing. The Dark Lord had ordered that anyone that had a large influence in the muggle world would be perfect targets to strike fear into the Ministry of Magic. So basically right now they were targeting Seto Kaiba from Kaiba Corp, a multi billionaire CEO at the age of a teenager.

The other Death Eaters who had joined Marty from the gardens were now starting to get impatient of showing themselves, but Marty did not allow them. For this plan was crucial, so they could achieve a higher status from the Dark lord himself. If they didn't use this opportunity, it'll be waste of time and effort or more accurately failure wasn't really an option in the dark lord's view.

But so far the muggle had sent them on a wild goose chase, as the CEO descended to many doors and stairs through the KC Branch, and where ever he went the place was filled with people. If they were going to get the so famous stubborn young CEO to obey their orders of an Imperious Curse, they had to make sure he was _alone_. It seemed as though the muggle had trapped himself by visiting a Metal Waste room of unused and broken machinery, large metal leftovers from cutting material, and chunks of motherboards. The Death Eater somehow felt everything was going too easy for them. Was there a reason? Or was this pure luck? But now it was time… to control the CEO…

The Death Eaters surrounded Seto…

The CEO only looked at Marty coldly. In a Duel, the best tactic to go against an opponent was to have an emotionless face; from there they can't what you're thinking of. This duel not only applied just in Duel Monsters, but in wizard duels as well. Seto didn't seem to mind the Death Eaters showed their emotions. The Death Eaters were power hungry which meant they could kill him, but behind that they were also impatient 'a tiny crack that could destroy a building' as Minori would say or to be more precise a weakness.

"Well if isn't a lousy muggle inventor." One of the Death Eaters mocked as he walked hungry for the kill towards Seto.

"A lovely one to take control of", another Death Eater added.

"What do you want!" the CEO glared at all five of them.

The third Death Eater laughed. "Marty, the poor filthy muggle is clueless."

_But the fourth Death Eater at the back said nothing._

"You know what we're here for, your influence, your power but most of all… the _control of your body_." Marty smiled at the CEO.

"I'd like to see a pig like you try." Seto shot back calmly.

"You pathetic muggle! You'll pay for this!" the first Death Eater was furious and shot an Imperious Curse.

All the other Death Eaters joined in..._Except the fourth_.

But before they knew it, their spells were deflected back to the floor...by chunks of metal floating in the air that now hovered in front of the CEO. Seto only smiled. Like Yugi, Ryou, and Malik he also had a special ability, and he was willingly to try it on the Death Eaters...But the dark lords underlings only gaped at the CEO who they thought was a normal muggle. But now they were angry. And according to Seto there was a large chance of using torture spell to the victim. But there was also a chance he would be welcomed to join them...or to die in their hands...

"You're no normal muggle after all. How about you join us?" Marty offered.

"And if I don't?"

"You'll be a corpse." Marty snapped.

'Yup... the wondrous mathematics of probability works in the oddest situations...' Seto thought as he rolled his eyes.

But suddenly the whole room turned to darkness. Now they were in the Shadow Realm. The former priest appeared hiding in the darkness and was smiling evilly as the Death Eaters had fallen into his trap. The Death Eaters on the other hand were getting more confused by every moment and perhaps frightened that now they were not going against a muggle. The floor of the metal waste was pretty much still there.

In a panic, the Death Eaters shot spells towards the CEO only to be deflected yet again by the metal shards in front of him blocking the attacks effortlessly. Marty suddenly caught what type of power the young CEO had, he could control metals or anything a magnet could pick up! All he had to do was change everything into something else... the first thing he shot out next was a spell to change the whole room into plastic.

This time the CEO stopped as the metal shards that were turned into plastic fell down in front of him.

"So, you have an ability to control metal and anything that attracts it. But now... you're dead." The second Death Eater said.

_Four_ out of the five Death Eaters pointed their wands...

But never had a chance to shot out spells as they found out the plastic on the floor turned into forms of hands and held on to them tightly.

_But one Death Eater was not tied down._

"What! Impossible! The plastic should have stopped your ability!" Marty said in disbelief.

"Well, well, well. Isn't it funny, a bunch of Death Eaters who are clueless about magic?" Seto mocked. "Controlling metal is one of my best abilities, but to be more precise _I can control and change anything that is matter_."

The third Death Eater was going to retort but failed and screamed in agony because his mouth was going to burst.

"That includes the blood in your lips as well. I prefer you'd stay silent." The CEO stated coldly.

Marty turned to his fourth member, "What are you doing? Help us get out of here!"

The fourth only moved towards Seto and in front him bowed and soon bowed to Seth who walked into the room calmly from the depths of the shadows. The Death Eaters gasped as they found out not that there were two CEOs but their own fellow member betrayed them.

"I have done what you have requested." The cloaked fake Death Eater said.

"Well done, Death Gremlin." Seth congratulated as the DM who deactivated the hologram disguise.

"Keep the cloak on, do you have the information we wanted?" Seto asked.

"Yes sire." The monster answered putting his disguise as a KC employee.

"Come with me Death Gremlin, and Seth, the Death Eaters are all yours. Have fun. And make sure they suffer." Seto said and teleported with Death Gremlin.

"With pleasure," Seth smiled sinisterly. He looked at the frightened Death Eaters like a hawk who found his prey. "Now… what shall I do with you four?"

-------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Kaiba Corp branch in London_

_Seto Kaiba's Office_

_Morning (Local Time)_

-------------------------------------

While Seth dealt with the Death Eaters, Seto read the papers of all the information in the wizarding world, members of the Death Eaters and their plans. Death Gremlin had fake Dark mark he made with the hologram so it was easy to infiltrate without the dark lord knowing. Too bad the dark lord doesn't know how technology works… But then Seto slightly cringed when he read the last sentence of the paper. Seth who suddenly had came back from dealing the Death Eaters only looked at his twin.

-((Something wrong?))- The priest asked.

"Read it." Seto simply said pointing to the last sentence.

Seth's eyes went wide. -((We must tell the Pharaoh.))-

Seto looked at his watch. He hated time difference. Well… there wasn't anything he could do right now… unless… The CEO calmly took out a time turner from his pocket, and gave it a few spins. And soon the office was back to night time, which meant in Japan it was morning.

--------------------------------------

_Seto Kaiba's Office_

_At Night (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------

Seto quickly wrote an email on his laptop hoping at least Yugi would read it before he reached London …

'Email Sent' the computer voice said.

Well, that was done. But now this meant he had to wait until it was morning again. He sighed; well maybe he should get some sleep. He only slept for an hour yesterday. The time turner wasn't just useful for working, but for resting as well unless you knew how to use it to its full advantage. Ever since he got one it was easier running his company as he found out he managed to even take a holiday with Mokuba, plus his employees were happier they had an extra day for the weekends (both Saturday & Sunday, before it was only Sunday). His body seemed to like the change since he had a decent amount of time to sleep.

Well… he wasn't going to sleep for too long. There were those files from the Order from Dimitri to look at… After Seto sent the email, he went towards his cabinet files to get some work done…

The yami on the other hand only muttered about Kaiba being a stubborn host about knowing when the time was rest or work… but he admitted he wouldn't want any other host than his twin here, at least he was respectful to his Pharaoh… and maybe having a twin wasn't so bad after all… Seth changed himself from spirit form to a plastic form, it was hard changing into a human, but as long as he was solid he guessed he could help his twin work anyway. Seto only looked at Seth and nodded. Having an assistant with the same way of thinking and way of working was better than having an employee who wanted a pay raise.

------------------------------

_Domino, Japan_

_Kame Game Shop_

_Saturday 20th August_

_Late in the Afternoon (Local Time)_

------------------------------

Hagrid told Yugi that he would get him in the morning. As Yami had figured out that would be morning…but in London. Yugi on the other hand was on the counter desk putting in new cards he bought recently with Yami figuring how to improve his deck more. The Puzzle wasn't around his neck, well more correctly the M puzzle was around his neck but covered with an invisible hologram that also made the item not solid. So if anyone bumped into an item holder they won't fell anything. This was a safety measure taken by all M item holders. Yami, who was stroking Shay, while the phoenix ate a bowl of sunflower seeds, looked at Yugi. From the Pharaoh's point of view he knew Yugi was determined to find out more about Hogwarts and his grandfather. Everything was ready, from his luggage to even the laptop.

Yami sighed about what the other four were going to react when they see Kaiba's email that Yugi and Yami both got this morning. Bakura and Marik are not going to be happy about it, but more or so he was not even sure the other hikaris will find the info 'nice'. Well… so much for trying to go to London to find more 'peace', when they knew they'll be crashing into the real wizarding world.

'_BANG, BANG, BANG!'_

-((That should be Hagrid))- Yami said to Yugi.

Yugi opened the door and greeted the giant.

"Hi, you must be Hagrid." Yugi said as he smiled.

"Sure am, 'right get yer luggage now, we better get to London quickly. Yer friends are waitin' for ye outside." The giant smiled back at the odd haired teen though it seemed the giant was trying to ignore Yugi's somewhat 'odd' hair. Yugi only shrugged the feeling away, his hair was natural and it wasn't the first time he got stares like this.

Shay on the other hand seemed to like Hagrid and helped him with the luggage.

"Yer phoenix?" the giant asked.

"Yup." Yugi nodded.

"Never thought anyone could have one besides Dumbledore. Sure is a beauty he is." Hagrid commented.

"I know." Yugi said bluntly. "Um, shall we go?"

'Righ' we should not waste any of our time then.' Hagrid nodded.

Soon Yugi was outside with Malik, Ryou and Hagrid. And in a flash they disappeared to London with a 'portkey' to the Leaky Cauldron.

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_London, United Kingdom_

_The Leaky Cauldron_

_Morning (Local Time)_

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They were now in their rooms in the Leaky Cauldron, much to their surprise they were the only ones who were staying there. The place itself was rather empty, which of course meant it was easier to get around. Hagrid had left them on their own, only left them with a few advices about Diagon Alley. Now they were planning what to do next.

-((Let's go to Knockturn Alley!))- Bakura urged.

Ryou only sighed, "Bakura, you can at least give me a break from getting into trouble…"

-((The Weasly Twins' Joke shop would be good))- Marik added.

"I don't think my yami got the point what you said." Malik snorted to Ryou.

-((Actually you'd all better read Kaiba's letter first before we _even start anything…_))- Yami emphasized.

They all looked to Yami, Yugi on the other hand was glad his darker side was _still_ _saner_ than the others…

_World Wide Web_

To…DM SM SetoKC Warning…

Yugi,

I've used the Time Turner to go back to night time in the UK to send you this email. Death Gremlin gave me more information that the Last Two Orichalcos Seals is in some form of seal that is hidden in Hogwarts. The information I got has something to do with the first four founders of Hogwarts. When you get to the school most likely this information will be in the library's restricted section. It seems the Unknown Prophecy of Destiny we've stolen has something to with it.

Another info I must tell you is that Duel Monsters has just hit the wizarding stores yesterday and it seems wizards are quite fond of it. Before you get your supplies in Diagon Alley, be aware of spies from the dark lord. Btw, the store that is selling Duel Monster Cards and their mats is 'Weasly's Wizarding Wheezes'. I don't think they have a clue what duel disks are yet. If you are planning to go to the shop, bring the hologram disguise devices with you for safety. The wizards won't know about whom the world champion is or who are the Elite Duelists yet, I'm actually going postpone the release of that information when you've at least stayed in Hogwarts about a month. Just don't try to attract attention too much.

When the wizards do find out when I release the information, _try not to get mobbed_,

Seto

PS: Bakura, Agent #025 will want to see you in Knockturn Alley

_Back to the Leaky Cauldron_

-((Don't _get mobbed_ huh?))- Marik said sarcastically.

-((Bah, who cares. But it looks like I got a meeting with a friend))- Bakura smiled gleefully.

"I thought that letter would at least halt my yami for a while." Ryou said gloomily.

"As if…" Malik rolled his eyes.

"Well at least there's a warning. I certainly don't want to get mobbed just like that." Yugi said simply.

-((First things first. We get our supplies, maybe even check the Joke store and check our wands at Ollivanders as Dumbledore requested for us as transfers. After that, you're all free to do personal business.))- Yami suggested.

They all nodded. Maybe the only one who wasn't really nodding was Ryou. He obviously didn't want to go into trouble again.

"We should get going then…" Yugi said.

---------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Diagon Alley_

_Afternoon (Local Time)_

----------------------------------------

Most of the morning was all to do with school supplies, books from Flourish and Blotts, Hogwarts robes from Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions and Apothecary's for potion ingredients. They only got a glance at the Quidditch shop and walked down the gloomy Alley full with pamphlets, shabby odd stores with posters of ministry advices and pictures of wanted Death Eater posters everywhere. Now they were at the wand shop which sign read, _'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.'_. A boy about their age had just exited out of the shop chasing a toad while his grandmother looked rather pleased with him for some reason.

Mr. Ollivander himself was closing the shop early for some reason as well. He was turning the store sign to 'Close' when he saw the three of them coming into his shop. "Can I help you boys?" he said with an odd voice that would of creep any normal person. Not for the hikaris that is, since the yamis were sometimes a lot more creepy.

"We'd like you to check our wands, Professor Dumbledore requested it from this letter." Yugi gave the letter and showed it to the wand maker.

"Transfers...I see...very well... you three are _my very last customers_." Mr. Ollivander said. "I'd like to see your wands please on the desk."

The three of them went to the main desk of the shabby old shop and took out their wands for the wand maker to examine.

Yami had taken over Yugi and said, "Leaving very early aren't you?"

Mr. Ollivander only looked at Yami.

Even the Thief took over, "Don't worry too much, the shop is cloaked. You can speak."

The wand maker at first hesitated but then said, "I never thought I would actually meet one of the Masters of the Shadow Casters from the Order of the Shadows here, or any other members of the OotS, especially checking their wands." Mr. Ollivander finally admitted.

"So you're moving out?" Malik asked.

"Yes, I have made many wands here but if the dark lord rises again I fear what my new wands will do next. The preparations are complete; I'll leave without leaving a trace. It'll be wonderful living with Sieg, I never thought my family line still existed or there were any of us Element Masters left." The wand maker said.

Mr. Ollivander shivered mentally as he checked the member's wands that were from the OotS. It was not easy acting as though one was calm if you knew that you were looking at something that no wizard might ever use, including the dark lord. So...Professor Ryu was not lying when he said just how powerful the wizards who joined as its members. And the proof was Yugi's, Ryou's and Malik's wand that he was checking right now.

Yugi:

Core – Golden Phoenix Feather

Wood – White Brilliant Maple and Dark Mahogany

Size – Nine and a quarter inches long

Ryou:

Core – Sliver Night Unicorn Hair

Wood – Moran tee and Shade Ash

Size – Ten inches long

Malik:

Core – Eastern Ridgeback Dragon Heartstring

Wood – Light Oak and Ebony

Size – Eleven and a half inches long.

"I can't say these wands can be really be used anyone but yourselves, a wood of a wand when combined with a darker and lighter type shade together usually cancel each other out. And the cores are very rare, of course only few special wizards or witches can use them. If the wizards/witches are not powerful enough, the cores will be very stubborn just to put out a simple spell." The wand maker concluded.

"I see why you wish to leave then." Yami looked to the wand maker.

"I've caused too much damage by selling 'that wand', phoenix feather, yew, Thirteen and a half inches long, and an extremely powerful wand. At times of war like this I think I won't like being dragged on to either side." Mr. Ollivander looked at the odd teens.

"So your reason for joining the OotS was trying not to get involved in the war?" Ryou asked after forcing his yami to get back into his soul room.

"Yes, and family, I never thought there would be any Element Masters left. Most of us were hunted down for our special abilities and the Ministry of Magic hates Element Masters. Many who went into hiding were caught. But my family hid under a job of wand making so we were safe from the purges." The wand maker sighed.

"Alright, here are your wands. It's odd that your wands don't make your magic flow from yourself, but rather they tend to filter your magic instead. Odd wands for somewhat odd people I guess..." Mr. Ollivander added.

"Very well then we must leave. Take care." Yami said and shook hands with the wand maker.

"You all take care of yourselves as well. Hogwarts this year won't be safe."

Yugi, Malik and Ryou said their goodbyes to the wand maker as the shop closed down.

And now for the grand finale… Weasly's Wizarding Wheezes…

-----------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Weasly's Wizarding Wheezes, Diagon Alley_

_Late in the Afternoon (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------

Yugi, Ryou and Malik with their yamis stood in front a shop Number Ninety Five, Diagon Alley with holograms disguise on and gaped at a store…

-----------------------------------------------

Set against a dull, poster muffled shop fronts around them, Fred and George's windows hit the eye like a firework display. Casual passers-by were looking back over their shoulders at the windows, and a few rather stunned-looking people come to halt, transfixed. The right-hand window was covered with a gigantic poster, purple like those of the Ministry, but emblazoned with flashing yellow letters:

Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who?

You SHOULD Be Worrying About

U-NO-POO

The Constipation Sensation That's Gripping the Nation!

_-Chapter 4, Draco's Detour, Pg.113 British Hard Cover, HP & the H-B P-_

------------------------------------------------

-((Flashy.))- Marik could only say.

But the thief already had a large grin on his face –((This is _my kind_ of store!))- And without further or do, Bakura took over Ryou's body and dashed into the store...

The other four only sweat dropped.

-(I feel kind of sorry for Ryou...)- Yugi admitted.

-(Don't be. By the way, here Yugi, take this.)- Malik threw a pouch at Yugi.

Yugi checked inside was full of galleons, knuts and sickles. –(What's this?")-

Malik only smiled and said, -(Payment to the Pharaoh for letting him steal. I don't think the darn thief won't want to say a 'thank you' of any kind in front of anyone.)-

-((Any chances that the money is not from a 'robbery'?))- The pharaoh asked inspecting the pouch as he took over Yugi's body.

-((It was a paycheck from Prof. Ryu, after the stealing from the ministry. You've got about 45 of that paycheck.))- Marik answered.

_Malik and Yugi looked at Yami on what he was going to do next…_

As Yami fiddled with the pouch in his hands…

Malik kept his eye at Yami…

Yugi tried staring and trying not to blink…

Yami calmly slipped the pouch of wizard money into his jacket… The hikaris dropped to the ground (anime fall!)…

-((How thoughtful. Well then, shall we do our own shopping?))- Yami looked at Marik who now controlled Malik's body.

-((Heck yeah, I've got some extra to spend as well!))- Marik smiled evilly. He was glad the fact Yami had his dark side making its way back.

-(Yami's getting scarier…)- Malik commented looking at Yugi, who was rubbing his eyes still not believing what Yami had done.

-----------------------------

_Inside the Store_

_Duel Monsters Section_

----------------------------

For one thing, Yami and Marik were somewhat happy from all the shopping they did. They both bought mostly joke merchandise since they found the Shield Cloaks and even Instant Darkness Powder not useful. Yugi pictured if the CEO knew about this, he would most likely laugh in his boastful way like he always did seeing how the shield cloaks didn't protect one from an unforgivable curse. Just a week ago Seto had created an extra feature to the hologram devices by adding an unforgivable curse shield. Now the Duel Monster's section was full of moving monsters and attacks flashing everywhere. The four members of the OotS were even more surprised just how many customers that were at the stands. You could say there were…um…an _awful lot_ of people around.

Malik rubbed his right eye, -(Right, I thought the CEO said that wizards were _quite_ fond of it.)-

-(I think Kaiba was saying that as sarcastic commentary.)- Yugi corrected.

-((You hikaris didn't get the part where it said _'try not to get mobbed'_ do you?))- Marik corrected the other two.

While the other three were bickering why Duel Monsters was famous, Yami eyes darted throughout the shop. He bet normal people or muggles who played duel monsters would love the shop. One thing Yami had noticed was how many people were discussing or wishing that Duel Monsters were real. Heck, they are _real_ and yes they pretty much have an _existence_. For a darker price that is. Much to Yami's knowledge, history behind Duel Monsters was basically tragic involving killing and war. Changing it into a _normal_ game was better than having to lose a soul in a You-know-what game. Yami was now paying attention to a conversation…

"You've got a lot of strong cards!" one boy exclaimed.

"I know, but I'm still keeping the other cards in a collection tin just in case." The taller boy said.

"Why? Not like we're going to use 'em anyway."

"I heard that in Japan where they have rules of sacrificing a weak monster for a stronger monster."

"Really? I like the normal rules. Who uses those rules?"

"The top duelists do and of course normal muggles now use it as well."

"Well, I like the rules where there shouldn't be any sacrifice at all and summoning stronger monsters is easy."

And the two boys continued their conversation…

From the conversation, Yami was now concluding a few things about Duel Monsters in the wizarding world. Mostly, as Seto had stated they only had mats which meant… They don't know about duel discs…They're still using Duelist Kingdom rules… and… they definitely haven't figured out yet that the best duelists were now wizards, few as muggles while three were heading to Hogwarts.

This time, Yami had let Yugi be in control to look around the DM section. After the bickering had stopped it seemed everyone was in a happier mood going their own ways to look around. Yugi was looking at a whole stand of a limited Spellcaster's Only pack, two were left there. Immediately Yugi took them to his hands and went to the other themed packs around the store.

-((What was that for? One is enough you know.))- Yami looked at his light oddly.

-(One for me, one for you. There's still plenty of money from Bakura's pouch right?)-

This time Yami fell to the floor… He scratched his head, –((Do you have a darker side coming in abiou?))-

His twin laughed –(Yes, you haven't forgot it was _you_ right?)-

Yami only raised an eyebrow.

-(I know we're doing spying for the Order, but it doesn't mean we can't have a bit more fun. If I keep worrying about grandpa, I'll lose focus on spying. Besides, we might as well find a new Duel Monster companion to fight with us.)- Yugi answered with a smile.

Yami nodded. There was something about how his smaller twin was growing up. Even with his darker side was back, Yugi was able to understand, to accept and to have faith in him as a friend. But sharing one body had made them closer. If Yami in his past had a brother, Yugi would most likely the only one he wanted.

--------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom _

_Diagon Alley_

_Outside Weasly's Wizarding Wheezes_

_Sunset (Local Time)_

--------------------------------

Ryou was already waiting outside in an enclosed area and gave a signal for the other two when no one was looking.

"Looks like someone did shopping." Marik said as he looked to Ryou who had three _huge_ bags from Weasly's Wizarding Wheezes.

"It was _he_ who did the shopping." The half Brit corrected and pointed to his yami who was smiling gleefully and uh… _dancing?_ ... It was as though he was an Indian who had just successfully made the rain come by doing a 'rain dance'… too happy to put it in words would be another way to describe it for all the things he had bought.

Yami sweat dropped, 'He actually _bought_ something what he wanted, than stole it like he used to. Right…At least that's _an improvement_.' The pharaoh thought.

Yugi soon came in, "There's a message." Yugi took a cell phone out of his pocket and it showed '1 message received' with the numbers from the Order.

This caught everyone's attention and they looked to the sms…

_SMS_

It is important dat u report 2 me 2night KOG. Thief meets Ag#025 at 'Gobly's Ale' in 18:00 hours at Knock TA. Tomb K; go 2 Little Post A at 17:55 hours 2 meet Ag # 067 n Ag #089 for info on 'H'. Del dis message ASA u fin reading dis. Ag #008.

(_Translation:_ It is important that you report to me tonight King of Games. Thief meets Agent #025 at 'Gobly's Ale' at 06:00 pm at Knockturn Alley. Tomb Keeper; go to Little Post Ally at 05:55 pm to meet Agent #067 and Agent #089 for info on Hogwarts. Delete this message as soon as you finish reading this. Agent #008)

_Back to Diagon Alley _

"We're pretty busy tonight." Malik commented.

"Not like we have a choice." Yugi said.

Ryou's face paled. "Now what?"

-((We'll have to do the task now.))- Yami said quietly.

The thief's happiness then burst out -((YAY! Knockturn alley! Knockturn alley! Sorry hikari, _you lose_…huahahaha!))-

-((Well fun wouldn't hurt won't it?))- Marik joined in. Malik on the other hand only sighed; it was better giving up than going against his yami. At least he didn't have to feel so bad about it.

Yami who had taken over Yugi's body flicked his wand and sent the luggage to the Leaky Cauldron. Marik and Bakura only gapped, has the pharaoh gone out of his mind? "My treat, you two should get going if you're going to get to your destinations on time. We _need_ the information. It's crucial that we don't waste our time when it comes to matters of the Order." Yami whispered in a somewhat deadly voice.

To Bakura and Marik this was a signal the pharaoh was serious. It would be foolish to go against the pharaoh's words. Having a permission to do what they pleased was great and they weren't going to miss a chance like this… The two nodded and made their way through the streets quickly…

Yami only looked at the two as they left before making his way into the crowd.

-((Somehow I have a bad feeling what's going to happen when we get to Hogwarts))- Yami said through his mind link as he walked.

-(Yeah…And we won't be able to evade a real wizard duel either)- his light added.

-((It'll depend on what agent #008 will give us regarding the information that he's desperate to inform us.))-

As the conversation ended Yami disappeared into the long street amongst the wizard and witches...

TO BE CONTINUED…

-------------------------------------

Yup, Seto has special powers too! So far the abilities we know of YGO characters are…

Yugi/Yami : Controlling elements of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Light, Darkness and Void.

Ryou/Bakura: Ability to go through walls or anything that is solid.

Malik/Marik: Ability to change into a 'shadow' and disguise as any shadow.

Seto/Seth: Ability to change or alter anything that is matter.

There might be more…but we'll just have to see later…

Info on Wands: I wanted to make it a little more interesting. In many fanfics they focus on the cores but I also want to add the oddness with the wood type as well. So if you looked at their wands the wood are half light and half dark which represents that they have two spirits in one body.

So far the OotS have not only infiltrated the wizarding community but the Death Eaters too… Mr. Ollivander is an Element Master folks! ... Thus his disappearance… Death Gremlin is a fake Death Eater voicing in what the dark lord's underlings are doing…

Yami's dark side has made its appearance again… I loved it where he puts the money pouch in his jacket…huahahaha … Bakura's really enjoying himself is also my fav part! (chuckles)

I didn't really make Hagrid appearances that much, because I think Yugi and Co. are old enough to buy stuff on their own, despite the Ministry measures. So Hagrid can come in the Care of Magical Creatures lessons later.

Now for Review Feedback!

**To kurama and hieis girl:**

Well here's the fic! Hope you like reading it! I know I should try to stick to more quick updates but I prefer to have a good long chapter than a short and hurried one. Just to make up for my late update. I have this bad habit if I hurry things up it might turn bad, so please bear with me. In return I'll give what I've got to write each chapter to memorial. Thanks for reviewing!

**To Crazy Hyper Lady:**

Thanks! Yeah I know the part of italiczation going on. And yep, got complaints too. Sorry for that. Well, I changed the format, hope it's better for your eyes. I try my best to keep the story line as original as possible. And I hope you can contribute your ideas as well. If you have any, just say it and I might even put it in. This is my longest chapter! Hope you liked it. Keep reviewing!

**To Akumagirl:**

I didn't think this story was really great but thanks for the motivation! I know what you mean about great fanfics but they don't seem to be updated or the fics have stopped completely. But it won't happen to this fic! I'll try better to balance my time between schoolwork and this fanfic. Thanks for the opinion on the houses, I'll keep it in mind when I get to the sorting! Hope you keep reviewing!

**To Yamiace1321:**

To tell you the truth it's freaking difficult to fit in my parts of the story to the original story line but I find it to be a great challenge. Thank you for saying it was great! I really do need a boost.

Yami's darker behavior is getting scarier by the passing moment… he's now going all yami again…even Yugi is getting affected… huahahaha… It seems like Bakura and Marik are celebrating right now o … Poor Ryou hasn't accepted the mischievous behavior of his yami… Malik on the other hand seems to have tolerated his yami to an extent…

This is only the beginning part of Diagon Alley… wait till you read the next part… more yami mayhem!

Run into Malfoy? That could happen, but I won't go over the original storyline. But hey…he does need a 'proper' lesson… by _whom_? You'll just have to wait a tad longer to know that one…

Seto in this chapter has accepted his yami. Though you could see from the outside he's not very caring for his yami, I think on the inside Seto is actually glad to have a twin like Seth. If you noticed from the manga/anime Seto and Seth do nearly have the same way of thinking. So I thought if they both got to know each other, they're one heck of an undefeatable business-mind team. Well as long Seth doesn't go on Seto's nerves…

Anyways thanks for the support! I'm a bit free for this weekend, so I'll try to fit in as much time to get another chapter going! You're pretty lucky to have time to skive, I hardly do…Well, that's basically life… Hope you review again!

Next on HP, HBP, and the OotS…

Yamis mayhem night at Diagon Alley!

We're going to run into Malfoy…

More on the OotS…

And a bit of Harry Potter too…

The next chapter:

_**Chapter 7: 'The Magic COM link'**_


	7. Chapter 7: The Magic COM Link

**Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows**

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be representatives of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any thing of YGO and HP in this fic (or food/drink merchandise or anything that are commonly known)...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J.K.Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

**I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:**

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book or any HP book _-text-_

Upcoming paragraph (s) to do with emails, articles or flashbacks _Text_

Status of Duel Monster: (No. Of Stars or Level /ATK/DEF)

Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

**AU notes:**

Hey there! Yay! I got this chapter done in two weeks! It's pretty rare of me doing this… especially I'm doing this chapter before the mid-semester exams…(smiles evilly) … I know… I should study… but I had this chapter in my mind… I couldn't help it…I just had to write SOMETHING…but anyways… after the mid-tests I'll be on my way for a holiday! (Only two weeks though) but… It'll give me time writing my next chapter!

Oh yeah, couple of OCs from the past chapters will make their appearances once again! Guess who? Well you'll have to find out for yourself! Enough of this author… Let go on with the Story!

Enjoy!

_**Chapter 7: 'The Magic COM Link'**_

------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Near The Leaky Cauldron_

_Evening (Local Time)_

-------------------------------

Yami made his way towards the Leaky Cauldron (still in hologram disguise) in hopes that Agent #008 would actually inform something useful than some sort of 'warning' like Seto Kaiba did. With Death Eaters around and somebody going after the M items it was more than enough to have 'warnings' and one had to be alert in 'being careful' and 'don't be reckless' advices were making him bored. There just had to be something that could at least satisfy the darker half for a while. That's when Yami noticed one 'fellow' at the end of the street who seemed to be rather 'busy' boasting his status over some salesman who was selling amulets. Yami quickly flipped the cell phone, scanned the individual with the in-built camera and accessed through the Order's database and the person was identified as...

'Student: Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin from Hogwarts and whose father was currently a well-known Death Eater.'

But another person who had caught Yami's attention was a person with a dark magic signature or to be more precise a Death Eater signature of a person spying from a dark corner of the street. Malfoy himself seemed to have the Death Eater magic signature but it wasn't as strong as the other. Yami only observed from afar what Malfoy was doing. It was odd how carefully he was holding a parcel; it meant there was something inside that had a high value.

-(Yami? Do you think he had just become a Death Eater?)- Yugi asked.

Yami nodded slowly. –((Frankly yes, and I have a feeling he's on one of those 'prove to be a good and loyal member tasks' right now.))-

Yugi looked to his yami, -(By the way, you think you can get info on the Death Eater that's hiding? From the looks of it he's watching to make sure Malfoy succeeds…)-

Yami looked in the Orders database again and it read... _'_Death Eater: Carl Wellington, assassin, takes out people if they are in the plan's way_.'_

-(I thought as much that he might have a reputation _like that_, more victims if anyone followed Draco.)- Yugi said truthfully.

-((Not unless we take care of him first. Or actually both him and that parcel.))- Yami stated as Malfoy went into the dark corner to talk to Carl.

Yami followed suit and hid behind the wall hearing their conversation.

"Do you have it?" the Death Eater asked.

"Everything's planned out alright. You don't have to be a grouch!" Malfoy snapped.

Carl growled, "I'm only making sure everything goes according to plan."

"I'm perfectly well by myself. And I don't need anyone else butting in." the younger Death Eater shot back.

Carl silently grumbled, he didn't want to stick with the kid, but orders from the dark lord were orders.

Sensing the conversation was over, Yami backed away slowly, however he stood near the lamppost just about five meters away from the other two.

-(Yami?)- the light looked at his darker half questioning.

Yami only looked at Yugi from the point of his eyes, -((Trust me, I know what I'm doing. And Carl's not alone...))-

-(He's not?)- Yugi gulped.

As Draco made his way down the street, Yami as if clumsy, literally bumped into Malfoy...

"Watch it you old coot!" Malfoy snapped.

"Quite sorry. My apologies." Yami acted guilty.

Malfoy seemed to be debating with himself either he should go and deliver the parcel or maybe teach the coot a lesson. But in the end he only sent the pharaoh a death glare and left without fighting.

Yami inside his hologram only smiled. In his hand there was a screw.

-((No wonder the thief enjoyed stealing))- Yami said looking at the screw.

-(...)- Yugi blinked and couldn't say anything. Did his yami just _steal_ something?

Swiftly Yami went towards another direction, away from the Leaky Cauldron. Yugi was slightly dazed on what was happening, though it was soon clear that about five Death Eaters were on their trail. The first thing that came to mind was why were they following Yami just for a single screw? For one thing, Yugi had a feeling they were going to get into a fight.

Yami of course lead them to an empty alley...

"We want that screw of yours. Don't play dumb, you look a lot more smarter than you look." Carl spoke up first.

"Really? How so?" Yami calmly questioned the Death Eater.

"You bastard! Don't interfere with our plans!" One hot headed Death Eater shot out a spell.

Now was time to test Elemental magic...Yami simply focused his mind and used a non-verbal spell to his advantage.

'_Distortion!' (Light magic)_

A net appeared in front of Yami and formed into an invisible bubble shield. The shield basically absorbed the spell...

"Don't tell me you're part of group who made a fraud in the ministry and behind the disappearance of other Death Eaters?" Carl exclaimed.

"That's right." Yami nodded.

"How dare you," the third Death Eater grumbled.

However Yami wasn't paying attention to his opponents. With a burst of flame, Shay came and perched on Yami's shoulder.

"Just at the right time Shay, now listen carefully..." Yami greeted the phoenix and started talking to it.

Another Death Eater started to lose his patience, "Hey! If you're really intending to fight us then face us!"

Yami now had a parchment floating in the air while a quill was writing by itself. "...St. Mungo's there been a fight at Alley no.5 please send...one (he pointed at one of the Death Eaters)...two... three... four... _five_ healer units on the way." Yami smiled evilly as Shay disappeared with the note and pointed at Carl who was going to be his last victim.

Now your turn hot headed one!" Yami smirked aimed his hand to the Death Eater who had called him a bastard.

'_Dark Matter!_' _(Dark magic)_

The Death Eater was engulfed into a dark orb and when the orb was gone he was already unconscious.

The other three Death Eaters joined in the attack, but Carl seemed hesitant to follow.

The bubble shield of course yet again absorbed the spells... Yami had an idea to take out three at once...

'_Thunder Flare!' (Thunder magic)_

Under the three, a ring of electricity surrounded them and trapped them into an electric sphere. It took no longer than two seconds to make them faint since they were electrified. All was left was Carl...

Carl only glared at the stranger in front of him... No wonder the other Death Eaters had disappeared... their unknown enemy was far from weak like the normal wizarding society...

Carl prepared for his worst...he only had one thing to do…

"Ah... the killing spell...then I'll use the strongest spell I know..." Yami said.

Carl shot out the unforgivable spell in hopes to kill his enemy... but his hopes were gone when it was blasted by a spell...

'_Agony Effect!' (Void magic)_

This time a multicolored sphere went charging straight towards Carl and amazingly at the same time absorbed the killing spell that increased the sphere by size. The last Death Eater took the blow and crashed to the ground.

-((Well that's done.))- Yami sighed as he collected their wands and threw them in a nearby bin.

-(At least they're not dead and will be out for a few hours. I never knew the elemental spells were that strong)- Yugi admitted.

-((It's best we leave. The authorities can handle them. But first...))-

'_Eraser!' (Dark magic)_

-(They won't remember us right?)- Yugi asked.

-((Nope, but I managed to absorb the other memories from their minds as well.))- Yami said as a small looking USB drive appeared in his hand.

-(Who would of thought technology and magic actually click with one another? It's as though yesterday they were water and oil.)- The light stated.

The pharaoh looked to Yugi -((The upper hand is ours. I would rather know, than not know at all.))-

-(By the way...what was all that fuss about the screw?)- Yugi asked.

-((It's part of a Vanishing Cabinet.))-

Yugi's eyes widened -(Vanishing Cabinet? You mean it's like one door that leads to another door that's in…)-

-((Hogwarts. Malfoy is trying to get some Death Eaters inside the school. But the screw will delay him at least for three months or so.))-

-(But what if he finds another screw?)-

-((At least we'll know and will be ready to go against the Death Eaters. Or just hope he'll bump into Bakura and Marik if he's lucky. Now we need to meet Agent #008, we're a bit behind schedule))- Yami said and quickly left the scene...

-------------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Gobly's Ale, Knockturn Alley_

_06: 49 PM (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------------

Meanwhile... On the other side of town in a pub…

Behind a hologram of what it looked like two people talking in hushed voices… Two infamous thieves were having a time of their life…

"Bakura you crazy lump, you didn't have to go into all that trouble on stealing these", Ethan or the so-called Agent #025 smiled and pointed to what it looked like ten pouches of wizarding money.

The thief acted as though he were ashamed of himself, "Sorry, but I couldn't help myself. The new environment must've accelerated my _stealing hormones_…"

They both laughed again…

Yes, you could say that new places created new possibilities in stealing… And with Bakura's new ability of going through anything solid…well… Just say that pockets, where people put their money in Diagon Alley or in Knockturn were _definitely not safe_ from the King of Thieves…

"And just say half of these are for you, for the new devices you're giving me tonight." Bakura added shoving five pouches of money to Ethan.

"Thanks a bunch."

"How's Prof. Ryu? Is he well?" Bakura asked.

"He's well, though the Order's been busy lately. More news recently had come up. It looks like the Death Eaters were interested in the Millennium items." Ethan said quietly.

Bakura only looked at Ethan and gestured him to go on.

"I guess it had to do with its dark properties. Seems Bazil, the holder of the Key, permanently erased the information they've been looking for. So basically they found a new target to fill in for a while… this is it…" Ethan slid a card towards Bakura.

Bakura looked at the picture. "Hogwarts, way to go. Man it's going to be a long year..." He sighed.

"That I won't doubt. Here's also something that we also found..." The other thief slid another card.

"An improved version of the Orichalcos Seal. I've heard from Yami, do you have any ideas what it does?" Bakura asked as he picked up the card and looked at it.

"Apparently no, however the magic being emitted by the seal can't be destroyed with normal wizarding magic. But it seems as though only Elemental, Soul and Shadow magic are the best bets to destroy the smaller seals we've found." Ethan explained.

Bakura shrugged. "I figured we'd fit somewhere in the prophecy."

"It's best you get this information to both Marik, Yami and the other hikaris. It'll be your task at Hogwarts. By the way where's your hikari?" Ethan asked.

Bakura only gave a devilish innocent look, "Err… somewhere…in my soul room."

"Right… I thought you'd say that. We should get going. This pub is full of jerks at seven-thirty." as Ethan got out of his seat and looked at his watch.

------------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Towards the Exit of Knockturn Alley_

_07:18 PM (Local Time)_

------------------------------------------

Malfoy panicked as he walked. He couldn't believe he had just lost a stupid darn screw. The boy was like a pot of boiling water. Maybe he should have gone to 'that' place the next two weeks with his mother. No, what was he thinking? He wanted to get all of this done and over with. Malfoy figured, 'I've only done one tiny mistake. How's it going to get worse?"

That's what he thought…but with two thieves on the loose…_things can happen_…

Bakura and Ethan on the other hand, had stopped to identify the boy's status from ten meters away on the Order's database with a cell phone.

"The kid's got links." Bakura pointed out.

"And Death Eaters watching his back." Ethan added.

They both looked at each other.

"Malfoy is mine." Bakura claimed.

Ethan nodded in agreement. "Then I'll take those three hawks further down the alley."

Without a sound, Ethan turned into his soul form and made his way towards the Death Eaters unseen…

Now all was left was Malfoy and Bakura…

The Alley was full of strangers walking by at this time of night… Perfect situation… to go for the steal…

Bakura passed by Malfoy and continued making his way towards the end of the ally.

-((Foolish boy. He'll be crying and wetting his pants soon.))- Bakura chuckled as Bakura felt his pocket that was quite heavy.

When Bakura was at the end of the Alley, three unconscious bodies littered the ground. Ethan on the contrary looked rather disappointed how light their moneybags were, but either than that he was taking advantage by looking into their belongings.

"Got anything?" Bakura asked.

"Not much. But the invisibility cloak looks good, a silver antique clock that can be auctioned, this pendant can be worth of something, couple of stuff from the Weasly shop… plus their memories too. Not much money though." Ethan answered.

Bakura's turn, "I stole this and gladly taken this." The thief boasted a carved wood fragment and large pouch of wizarding money.

"Is that…?"

"Yeah, part of a Vanishing Cabinet. The kid was up to something. It'll at least halt him for a year seeing this part takes ages to make. Ooooh… You better look what's inside the pouch!" Bakura pointed.

"I have to admit, not only does he have got links, but he's loaded as well." Ethan looked at the pouch that was full of Galleons and with the absence of Knuts and Sickles.

"What are you going to do with the these three?" Bakura asked.

"Don't worry, I've sent a letter to the cracked hospital nearby. The ministry will deal with them later seeing that they all have the Death Mark."

Bakura split the money into two, "This is your share and I have mine."

Ethan gladly received the share, "Thanks, looks like we won't see much of each other this year eh?"

"I know. I would have gladly want you to be my partner in crime if you were allowed to come though." Bakura added.

"That I won't doubt at all." Ethan chuckled. "Give my regards to your friends. I'll take these memory USBs to the Order."

Bakura nodded. They both shook their hands and departed their own ways…

For now, Malfoy only had got his wallet stolen. But in school…what will Bakura do…_who knows_…

-------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Little Post Alley_

_07: 23 PM (Local Time)_

-------------------------------------

At the end of an alley at Little Post three figures were talking in the darkness…

"What of security here?" Marik asked Agent #069.

"A bit tight. But, not tight enough." Justin answered.

Agent #089 looked rather annoyed, "Word of correction there pops, the security sucks big time! They can't even differentiate who's a Death Eater or not!"

"It's an Auror's way of saying something in a 'good manner'. You don't have to be hotheaded Steven." Marik sighed.

The Element master only raised an eyebrow, "Good manners…right… the ministry are chickens who actually have lost their heads more or so…"

"That's got to do with you seven nutty people who robbed the ministry remember?" Marik reminded as he rolled his eyes.

"The same thing is happening in Hogwarts as well." Justin informed.

"Really? How are security measures in Hogwarts?" Marik asked.

"The shifts of security guards are so rare, that most of them tend to be at their worst states from the lack of sleep. The Death Eaters don't realize it now, but later on… It could be used to an advantage," Steven concluded.

Justin continued, "However, the ministry is stubborn as always. As much protection they claimed to put on the School, they're still underestimating the Death Eaters. The shifts have a pattern. You learn it, and it's that simple getting in or out. And besides, only a quarter of the Aurors are guarding Hogwarts and the rest are actually volunteers, which makes it easier to infiltrate by our members but professionally it's like having cat guarding for the postman. Our beloved Prime Minister thinks as though it's the best security he can do." The Auror ended sarcastically.

"We won't have to worry about the school being attacked in the first few months, but in the last months… don't even think about blinking. And even if they do plan to attack Hogwarts, I have a feeling they'll have help from the inside. More specifically on who would be the suspects will be Slytherin students. About over half of their families are Death Eaters." Marik said.

"Who in particular would do the Dark lord's order?" Justin wondered.

"That kid would." Steven pointed out.

The kid who was passing by was none other than Draco Malfoy.

Marik looked at the other two, "Is it me, or is it _just_ a coincidence?"

"I doubt his mother will let him out all alone at this time of night." Justin commented.

Steven's face paled, "Not if he had Death Eaters with him. There's about three watching him right now."

"You're right. There are three dark magic signatures. Malfoy seems rather frustrated, I wonder if he bumped into the Pharaoh and the Thief or maybe both?" Marik said.

"I think it's your signal to get out of here Justin, because if he did bump into either or both the Pharaoh and thief most likely there would be bodies Death Eaters somewhere on the streets. If the ministry found out you were here, they'll be suspecting you." Steven warned.

"I'll take that advice. I'd rather not get involved with this matter; Scrimgeour has caused me enough trouble for the past few days. Even if they don't suspect me, I'll be running this case. I'll stay out of this one. You two be careful, I'll send you more security info via email," Justin said and apparated.

'_Crack!'_

"Now what?" Marik looked to Steven.

"Do something about Malfoy, the Death Eaters are toast." Steven said and went straight for the Death Eaters.

"My pleasure." Marik smirked.

Marik slowly walked and followed behind Malfoy, curios why would such a kid be walking in a place like this and what's with that parcel? It's as though he was holding it like a terrorist that wanted to detonate a bomb. To Marik's eyes what Malfoy was doing was basically attracting the attention of others.

Marik rolled his eyes, 'Some way of being a Death Eater huh? So much of trying to be stealthy.' He thought.

-((Talking about stealth…))- Marik last said, turned into a shadow and quickly jumped on to Malfoy's shoulders.

While in 'shadow form' Marik didn't have weight, so spying in dark places were the perfect places to get the best results, especially form people's shoulders. But this time, he was trying to find out what was inside the parcel. Marik's form ever changing because the changes in light, he quickly felt the inside of the parcel. So, it was a Vanishing Cabinet…a broken one, however two parts have been taken rather forcefully and _very recently…_but what made the darker tomb keeper realized the parts were taken off recently was there were traces of tiny drops of Shadow magic. And the traces had two different signatures, which could only mean both Yami and Bakura broke it deliberately for a reason.

Without a sound, Marik added in his spell. With a tiny magic blast, he made a crack on the Vanishing Cabinet.

-((It's all I can do for now…))- Marik sighed. In a flash, he left Draco's shoulder and headed back to where Steven was to make sure he was all right.

But Steven didn't have to break a sweat. He was pretty much smiling and waving with two fingers in the air ('Peace sign!') like a maniac as three bodies were on the ground.

-((So much for worrying about him.))- Marik had a sweat drop on his head.

Just about nine blocks away…

Malfoy who now noticed the crack and the missing piece was on the Vanishing Cabinet only looked at it dumb folded. Soon the boy was furious when his moneybag was not in his pocket. That old coot stole his moneybag! But what made Draco worried was that the Cabinet attracted too much attention. Maybe he should have gone here with his mother, he shouldn't have gone too early. Some night he was having. Without much thinking, Draco decided to give up for the night and made his way to the nearest place there was a fireplace. At least someone didn't stole his Floo Powder…

----------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_The Leaky Cauldron_

_An Occupied Bedroom_

_8:04 PM (Local Time)_

------------------------------------

Yami looked to the screen of his laptop. "The spells were useful. What information you wanted to tell us Agent #008?"

"You might as well know you've received a new computer chip from the Order. The illusionists have added a new feature to it." Sieg replied.

Yami smiled to the Head of the Element Masters, "I presume it'll be beneficial to our spying?"

"Indeed. It'll store solid objects into your laptop as data. You won't have to worry about curious people going into your belongings since it's in the computer."

"The Magic COM Link is far from what the wizards will expect." Yami stated.

Sieg nodded, "I know. It's simply like satellite waves, however they only react to those of the Order from Cell phones, to laptops and even to watches. Ah yes, I think you'll find this information useful."

The computer then said, _"You've got mail."_

Yami scanned the contents.

"These are more advanced Elemental Spells and if you can learn them, you can take down more Death Eaters." Sieg said.

"Hmm… they might take time in learning, but what about the space? I don't think I'll be able to practice spells like these freely in Hogwarts." Yami asked.

"As you know there is a room of Requirement in Hogwarts from the past meetings. But for safety, you can make your own one. To do this you need to do Space magic, which is a combination of Light, Void, Darkness and Thunder magic. The info I sent you will have the instructions."

"Seems the Order is fully prepared." Yami commented.

"Makes the consequences of our actions less damaging. It's all the info I can give you tonight, in the chip there's a manual from Prof. Ryu if you want to know more on what happening in the Order. Take care Yami and give my regards to Yugi. " Sieg finished as the screen logged off.

Yami sighed. "More work to do. But it usually pays off."

-(Don't forget to have fun Atemu.)- Yugi appeared beside his darker half.

-((Yugi?))- The Pharaoh looked to his light. The only time Yugi called Yami by his real name when it meant things were serious.

Yugi only smiled. -(…I couldn't thank you enough for doing this. Even after that last duel… I'm glad you stayed. But as hard working as we are, I think Grandpa would also want us to enjoy the time we have now. Thanks for always going out for me.)-

The Pharaoh ruffled Yugi's hair in a brotherly fashion, -((Hey, enough of being sad alright? I'm sure we'll save grandpa, but it'll take time.))-

-(Why do you want save Grandpa Atemu?)- Yugi asked suddenly.

For a while Atemu was silent, -((He looks so much like Shimon, well… that's because he's the reincarnation. But, I wouldn't want to lose anyone else just because they're going after the Items.))-

-(……)-

-((Come to think of it… Off to bed with you abiou (partner)! What you need is some sleep.))- Yami grinned in a devilish manner as he lifted his partner and made his way into his partner's soul room dragging his light with him.

-(Hey! Stop it! I'm old enough to stay up! You don't have to drag me! Atemu!)- Yugi groaned.

-((Not old enough in my eyes…))- Atemu mocked and smirked at his light since he was well… 5000 years older…

Atemu then puts Yugi on the bed and lifts up the sheets.

-(Does it feel odd when you have two names? When your real name is rarely called, do you feel comfortable?)- Yugi looked slightly guilty.

That had actually got the Pharaoh thinking, -((I don't know really. I don't mind, as long as those who call me by my real name are my friends. For without you and your friends Yugi, I don't think I'd found my real name.))- Atemu smiled and took out something behind his shirt.

-(That's…!)-

Hooked to a fine small-chained necklace was Cartouche, with the ancient Egyptian Hieroglyph encrypted.

-((The cartouche Tea gave me. I've always worn it ever since. Well… with a hologram on top of it.))-

-(You never told me you still had it!)-

-((Well you never asked. Oh yeah, here, it's yours.))- Atemu made something from Shadow magic and wore it over Yugi's neck.

Yugi looked at the necklace around his neck. It was a cartouche as well, but his name was encrypted in ancient Egyptian instead.

-(Thanks! But…)-

Atemu waved his hand over Yugi's mouth, -((No buts. My gift. And you need some sleep.))- And with an instant a sleeping spell worked it's way.

-(Good night, Atemu…)- Yugi sleepily said.

-((Good night Yugi.))-

Atemu watched his light slept peacefully. It was always his fault why Yugi had to suffer from the Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, fighting the Orichalcos, and even to the final duel. But what had hurt Atemu the most when he was parted with his other half because he lost a duel in fighting the Orichalcos. He didn't want to go through it again and didn't want anyone else felt the suffering that he did.

The Pharaoh walked silently out of Yugi's soul room and into his own soul room. His real soul room had changed after he got his memories back. It was now full of ancient Egyptian artifacts, full of books and figures of what it looked like a strategy game. A somewhat odd combination since it was a mixture of the past and present was more like it. Atemu thought about his own destiny, his memories were back and Zork had been defeated forever. But he dismissed the fact his task in this world was over. For the first time in his life, he decided his own destiny and that one is to protect Yugi until the end…

---------------------------------------

_Somewhere in the United Kingdom_

_The Burrow_

Date: 'Harry Potter's Birthday 

_10:00 AM (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

It would've been a happy, peaceful holiday had it not been for the stories of disappearances, old accidents and even of deaths now appearing almost daily on the Prophet.

_-Chapter 4, Draco's Detour, Pg.103 Paragraph Two British Hard Cover, HP & the H-B P-_

-------------------

Harry read the Daily Prophet that afternoon. Even if it was his birthday, things in the wizarding world didn't make Harry felt it was time to celebrate. The news that made Harry, Hermione and Ron worried was the missing of Harry's Prophecy and an Unknown group that was attacking the Death Eaters.

"You reckon they might be on our side?" Ron asked.

"But what would they want with Harry's Prophecy? Wouldn't it mean they wanted something to do with you Harry?" Hermione made a point.

"I don't know. But they managed to take out 13 Death Eaters in one night. That's a lot better than the ministry of magic all together." Said Harry, who was flipping the Daily Prophet to the next page.

"Harry, you don't get it do you! They also managed to rob the ministry in broad daylight and took out more Death Eaters than any Auror can! And if they stole your prophecy it clearly says they know how to fix it! And if-"

"Hermione, give us a break alright? Maybe they're just thieves that want a reputation. I mean all of the Death Eaters' belongings were mostly stolen right? And if you link it to the missing moneybags people who are reporting about it might make more sense." Ron explained.

"Ron's got a point. But what's bothering me is why they're targeting Death Eaters. I don't think these people are doing it just because of stealing." Harry admitted.

Hermione spoke up, "Have you read the details? There's no evidence what so ever. No clues, no witnesses and even the Death Eaters don't remember what had happened."

"As far as I know from mum, the members of the Order of the Phoenix are trying to find out about who's behind the recent happenings. But so far those people who are behind it are slick and agile at making their escape without a trace. I bet Professor Dumbledore has got a lot on his hands this year." Said Ron.

"Speaking about Prof. Dumbledore, I just remembered we're having transfer students from Japan. He said they were excelled students so make sure they feel welcomed." Said Harry, explaining to the other two.

"Being transferred at a time like this? They must be nuts!" exclaimed Ron.

"It's not really a good time with all the Death Eaters around. I feel a bit sympathetic to them." Said Hermione.

Harry scratched his head; "I wonder why they want to go to Hogwarts from all the way from Japan."

"Well forget it for now. Come on Harry, open my birthday present!" Said Ron, giving his present to Harry.

Harry opened the somewhat small package and found his present were a pack of cards… monster cards…

"This looks a lot like Duel Monsters in the Muggle world." Said Harry, who was inspecting the cards.

"Well it is, Fred and George have made them into a wizarding game. The monsters come to life by magic with a Duel Mat." The red hair teen nodded to Harry.

Hermione also joined in, "It's quite a fast and hard game since you have to think about strategy and you have to be willing to take the risks. But I find it really exciting."

Harry looked to Hermione oddly, as far as he knew Hermione wasn't very interested in playing games. She always turned out to only watch like in Quidditch, but now there was something that made her hooked towards the game. Without even asking both of his two long friends, they started to explain how to play Duel Monsters on the Duel Mats. Harry was awed how real the monsters looked and the thrill and surprise of playing what made Harry liked this game.

"Actually Fred and George had made a special section for Duel Monsters in their stores since they're selling like hot cakes! I can't wait to go and see it." Ron said excitedly.

"Keep focused on the Duel Ron, or my Curse of Dragon (5/2000/2000) will defeat your Baron the Fiend Sword (4/1550/800)! Curse of Dragon, Attack!" Hermione ordered.

"Oh no you don't, Open trap card, Waboku! You'll have to wait until the next turn to kill me."

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione dueling each other. It was quite a laugh looking at the two bickering about who was going to win. For Harry, the holidays had seemed so short compared to the others. Soon he would back at Hogwarts, but as much he liked the castle, this year just seemed different. Games like Duel Monsters maybe what the wizarding community needed to get their minds off the killing that was happening everyday. Who ever created the game must've been someone who had a great imagination…

Or at least that was what Harry thought of… But behind all of that… He didn't realized that they were apart of the Shadow Games… Games that had changed fates and destinies of many… And above all… that Shadow Magic existed very much in the present…

------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_The Leaky Cauldron_

_Evening (Local Time)_

-------------------------------

Yugi, Malik and Ryou had gotten all the things ready to go to Hogwarts.

To Ryou's dismay, the chip he received from the order was loaded with moneybags that Bakura had stolen during the two weeks they had stayed in The Leaky Cauldron. But he wasn't so sure about returning to the owners, fearing that Bakura might even take over his body the whole day and create more havoc. His dark owl, Apophis twittered excitedly, jumping here and there about going to a new place. The owl and the yami seemed to have a somewhat odd same personality. At least Ryou could start anew at Hogwarts, in Japan things just didn't work out for the thief…

Malik wasn't frustrated with his yami like Ryou was. On occasions the yami would get crazy doing weird things at times… but Malik tolerated what his yami was doing. The tomb keeper guessed it was how his yami was. Mont seemed to act the way Malik was which he was glad for… the tomb keeper couldn't really imagine a falcon acting like Marik… After being in Prof. Ryu's wizarding school, he liked how magic was connected with everything, even in arithmancy. He clearly enjoyed the subject and always got full marks. He wondered what Rishid, Isis and Bazil were doing back in Egypt…

Yugi on the other hand had finished packing half a day earlier thanks to Yami. Yami frequently used Yugi's body while he was sleeping to read books. He was now reading a thick textbook on his lap. If anyone thought Yami was reading a book about magic they would be pretty darn wrong…what Yami was now reading was a book called 'Quantum Physics'. Bakura laughed at first when he found out, but then thought of something else to do after being whacked by a six-inch dictionary-like science book about physics. Yami also seemed to have had a habit of listening to music on a mp3 player while he studied.

The next day was the big day… the day of full infiltration into Hogwarts and if necessary, into the Order of the Phoenix as well…

TO BE CONTINUED…

--------------------------------------------

Bakura seems to be literally stealing any moneybag he comes into contact with… I think his stealing hormones is starting to work overload…huahaha…

Yugi gets his own cartouche from Yami! I kind feel sorry for Yami how he feels about Yugi though…Yami learns a set of new spells…

Marik doesn't seem to be impressed with Element Master Steven…

Malfoy seems rather shocked not only did he get his lesson once… but three times! … By all the yamis!

Harry Potter and co. makes their appearance folks!

Phew! Another chapter done! I thought I'll never finish this chapter, but in the end this chapter was finished earlier than expected. This is chapter number 7! My favourte lucky number (and heck Voldemort's too) so I'm trying to aim at least 37 reviews. Why? It's got a number seven (grins)… I'm not quite sure I'll get there, but it'll be up to the reviewers. If any of your friends like HPxYGO crossovers please tell them about this fic! I'll be really thankful! So please don't hesitate to drop a review, short or long I'll always give feedback to anyone!

Now for Review Feedback!

**To kurama and hieis girl:**

Here's another chapter! It kind of felt drowsy at first when I was writing this, but I finally got over it… well… For the next chapter I think I'll aim to have it posted somewhere at the end of October or the beginning of November… at least when my mid-semester exams are over and done with. Anyways… thanks for review and I hope you keep reading and reviewing this fic!

**To Destiny's Dragon:**

Hey there! Thank you very much! I didn't think the story was captivating or even brilliant at first, but thanks to my sister who always gave me support I was able to write this fic. I owe a lot to her. And I also owe a lot to my reviewer too! That's why I'm still going to continue to make this story as original as possible! If you got any ideas or opinions about the story, just tell me. Hope you keep reviewing!

**To Crazy Hyper Lady:**

Hmm… Info on Yugi and co. leaks out about being the best duelists… I'll take a note on that one… that's a good idea… I'll have to figure out who's going to spread the news though… but don't worry, I think I got a plan for it! Thank you for contributing! It might come up in a few chapters later though. So please bear with me! We'll eventually get there! Thank you again for Reviewing!

**To ****Naru-Kit******

Here's the new update! Hoped you like it! My intention on writing Yugi and Co. in a different way was so I could give a new color to YGOxHP fan fiction. It's kind of hard trying something new, but I'm glad it worked. Thank you for reviewing this fic! ****

**To Yamiace1321:**

No problem at all. Malfoy gets a lesson by _all _three yamis! The Darker side is affecting Yami… And he even stole something… huahaha… looks like he knows what it feels like to be Bakura. In this chapter I wrote the softer side of Yami… You think it was good? I don't know how to think of it… Maybe I'm a bit emotional on Yami's feelings… or did it go well? Confusing I know… You just got in School? I've been going since September…man, the holiday calendar sucks in my school… well thank for reviewing again!

**To ****Cute lil Yami******

Thank you very much! I haven't heard anyone said they were addicted to this fic, but wow... It takes a lot of work making this story an original one, that's why I wanted to represent Yami and Bakura in a different way... Yami getting to know his darker side while our King of Thieves gets to know his human side... I know, the OotS rockz! Don't worry about updating, I'm _definitely_ not planning going anywhere about abandoning this fic. Thanks for reviewing!

**To Tira's Host:**

The Forbidden Forest? I think the two nuttos like Bakura and Marik would find it welcoming to go for the forest... Got another note down! About Yami, don't worry I'll make sure his dark side still has a sane side... since he is the Pharaoh after all... As you read in this chapter, our yamis have taken 13 Death Eaters in one night... why number thirteen? I guess it's a bad luck sign for the Death Eaters that they'll have to watch out for the OotS! Thanks for reviewing again!

Next on HP, HBP, and the OotS…

What's it like to go on Hogwarts Express?

Finally... THE SORTING!

Plans for Hogwarts...

What will happen when Hermione finds out our YGO characters have an 'Exceptionally Outstanding (O-Star)' on their OWLs Results?

The next chapter:

_**Chapter 8: 'The School of the Four Houses'**_


	8. Chapter 8: The School of the Four Houses

**Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows**

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be representatives of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any thing of YGO and HP in this fic (or food/drink merchandise or anything that are commonly known)...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J.K.Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

**I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:**

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book or any HP book _-text-_

Upcoming paragraph (s) to do with emails, articles or flashbacks _Text_

Status of Duel Monster: (No. Of Stars or Level /ATK/DEF)

Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

**AU Notes: **

Hello there! Sorry it took a while, but I planned to put all my effort to make this chapter a great one and I finally got over my mid-semester exams! Thank GOD I'm off on a holiday!

I know I got a complaint (or a compliment?) why I'm getting so few reviews for a great fic (at least that is what everyone thinks) and heck was I shocked when someone (see review feedback after the chapter) said I deserved at least 300 reviews (which I don't have) … Wow… that's a huge number… I didn't expect that… Do I really deserve that? … There are maybe a few reasons why I don't have that many reviews…

- One, I'm only in one C2 which is for normal crossovers…not the HPxYGO one…(I'm trying to get in 'The Hogwarts Library' though)…

- Two, I guess the sixth book is pretty new so maybe some would think I completely did an AU fic, or something to do with the book but changed the 'important happenings' into some sort of cliché… but to tell you the truth I like experimenting new things (or you might've noticed in the fic)…

- Three, not many people have read the fic yet… it's understandable really… some people prefer to read YGOxHP fan fiction at least when we get to the Sorting…

- Four, I prefer if the readers and the reviewers tell others themselves how they enjoyed the fic… Mainly because for me, it's a personal journey writing and getting reviews from others… And I may have mentioned before… Reviews are special to me in making this fic a lot better…So, I'm not a type of person who likes promoting things that would be on lines as 'this is _definitely_ good' because I know there's always someone better… So basically put… I want to learn to make this a better fic and where do I learn? … _I learn from my reviewers_… Yep, you people who read and review make my experience in writing are the ones I really thank for! So no matter how few reviews I get it's all about learning from others really… I really owe it to everybody who's made a contribution so far! Thank you all very much!

**About this chapter:**

Hogwarts Express here we come…

Okay… Most people are looking forward to the E.O.'s… Don't worry… we'll find out why this grade even exists…

The Sorting in many fics are always straightforward, 'put the hat on the head, talks about the character, and it shouts out the house' kind of thing… Yep, to tell you the truth _I'm bored of that_ (I bet those who have read a lot of HP and YGO crossovers are bored too) … so, in this chapter I'll write _my version_ what actually happens when that hat goes on your head… how is it different? … You'll just have to find out…

Well on to the story!

Enjoy!

_**Chapter 8: 'The School of the Four Houses'**_

-----------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_King's Cross Station (Muggle Area)_

_1st of September_

_10: 09 AM (Local Time)_

------------------------------------

-((For the last time! WHERE THE HELL IS PLATFORM NINE AND THREE QUARTERS!))- Marik barked.

Malik sighed irritably. -(Don't look at me. Ever heard of 'patience'?)- There were evident signs under his eyes he didn't get enough sleep.

Here were our three members of the OotS who were standing between the platforms nine and ten. They arrived earlier to confirm where Hogwarts Express was stationed, with their trunks on trolleys with their pets in cages (except for Shay the phoenix, Yami had asked him not to make an appearance until they were inside the magical area). However, the only one who really seemed to be looking for the entrance was Marik. Yami and Bakura on the other hand were completely ignoring Marik's blabbering. Yami was now reading a Biochemistry book while he was listening music from the headphones. On the contrary, Bakura was more interested counting the money he had stolen during his stay at the Leaky Cauldron. Yugi and Ryou knew their yamis had _some_ kind of plan, so they were pretty quiet.

-((Are you two going to help me look!))- Marik said trying to catch attention off the other two.

Yami and Bakura looked at Marik… then each other…

"_Nope_." they said together and returned to what they were doing.

-((Fine! You two worthless people can't…then…why…))- Marik kept on shouting through their mind link.

Malik looked to the other hikaris. –(Mind if I talk to you guys about the NEWT subjects?)-

Ryou wasn't sure and looked to Yugi. But Yugi wasn't sure either, so he looked to Yami for support.

-((I suggest you do, it's a lot better than listening to _him_. You don't have to worry, the darker tomb keeper will be taken care of…))- Yami said in a private mind link.

Yugi couldn't think what else to do, so he nodded. And soon, the hikaris were in their own conversation. So basically, _everybody_ was ignoring Marik…

Marik this time kept on yapping, but now he was screaming on top of his lungs…

Bakura looked to Malik and said in a private mind link, -((Mind if I do something to that body of yours?))-

-(If you shut the mouth of my yami, _please do_!)- Malik nodded with an evident tone of begging in his voice.

Bakura grinned and looked to Yami. –((Permission granted.))-

-((Very well.))- Yami agreed.

As Marik walked around still making arguments on how to find the magic passageway, he was getting closer to the arch that separated platforms nine and ten…

'_SMACK!'_

'_WHHHOOOAA!'_

And Marik disappeared… 

-(Thanks, I owe you two.)- Marik said with gratitude and disappeared as well.

-((Case closed.))- Bakura commented.

-(…………)- Ryou only blinked.

-(Yami, where did Marik and Malik go?)- Yugi asked.

Yami smiled. -((Just wait and see.))-

-----------------------------------

_King's Cross Station (Wizard's and Witches Area)_

_Platform Nine and Three Quarters_

_1st of September_

_10: 14 AM (Local Time)_

------------------------------------

Through a barrier wall was Hogwarts Express on Platform Nine and Three Quarters that was scheduled to leave at 11 o'clock. Yami and Bakura calmly walked pushing their trolleys (Marik's too) into the magical area with their hikaris behind them and glanced in front of them at…

Marik in the most awkward body position… his chest was flat on the ground and his legs over his head… _ouch… _wonder what_ that _felt like_… _then again_… maybe not…_

His hikari on the other hand gave two thumbs up to the Thief and Pharaoh.

-(What… happened?)- Yugi asked.

Bakura answered Yugi in his most angelic face of Ryou he could muster, -((Pharaoh and me gave the Maniac tomb keeper a _little nudge_ on the back through the barrier.))-

Yugi only stared with a raised eyebrow. The Pharaoh and the Thief working _together_?

Ryou's eye twitched, -(Looks more like a _thrust _on the back to me… make it two…)- he commented.

-((Actually, it's a spell.)- Yami corrected.

-((_Two_ thrusting spells!))- Bakura added gleefully.

Marik immediately stood up and looked at the other darker halves, -((What was that all about! If you both knew why didn't you tell me!))-

-((Coz…YNA! You… Never… Asked. Happy?))- Bakura mocked.

Marik now was very much on the verge of being the psycho killer 'Jason'….

-((We better not waste our time here. How about finding a compartment? It's why we came earlier in the first place anyway.))- Yami pointed out.

"Agreed", nodded Malik after forcefully shoving his yami out of his body to take over…Marik who was behind him, only muttered under his breath about why he had to be a lab rat.

-----------------------------------

_King's Cross Station (Wizard's and Witches Area)_

_Hogwarts Express, An Empty Compartment_

_1st of September_

_10: 20 AM (Local Time)_

------------------------------------

Yugi, Ryou, and Malik sat in their compartment glad that everything was put away. Shay was now perched on Yugi's shoulder and seemed happy to be going somewhere. Ryou's small owl Apophis kept on jumping up and down in his cage as though it was high on stimulants. Mont (Malik's falcon) was aiming death glares at the fidgety black owl whose height was no bigger than a 500ml water bottle, annoyed of the racketing of the cage. All the yamis had gone to rest in their respective items after they found the compartment.

"So how did Yami and Bakura know where the barrier was?" Malik started the conversation.

Ryou answered first, "Well, Bakura's a thief right? I don't think it that hard for him to know which places are hidden passageways or entrances."

"Yami and I recently have become Elements Masters too. An Element Master has a larger range in sensing magic than the other branches of wizards, I think he felt the barrier first before I did." Yugi added.

"You knew?" Ryou asked.

Yugi's face went red. "Well…yeah, but I didn't want to bother what Yami or Bakura was doing." Yugi said truthfully.

Malik rolled his eyes, "You could have told my yami, then he would've shut up sooner."

"Speaking of yamis, I think we ought to make a pact about keeping our true identities as OotS members." Ryou said.

Yugi looked at Ryou, "That's something I wouldn't doubt. Especially, when it comes to our other halves."

"I'd prefer we avoid playing any Duels in public, if the wizarding world knows just how great DM is, I have a feeling they'd go after rare cards. It seems to be we might be the targets, I mean heck we got the rarest cards in the world." Malik added.

The faces of the other two duellists paled when Malik mentioned that part…

"Come to think of it, I think now I get the point of 'try not to get mobbed' now. I just hope Kaiba gives us the warning earlier than after." Ryou said.

Yugi sighed, "Well, at least we know what to do. So… no duels in public, no mentioning of God cards or any other rare cards in particular…what else?"

"No Shadow Magic." Malik added in.

The three nodded to that one immediately.

'Tap, Tap, Tap!' 

The door of the compartment slid opened. "Mind if we share your compartment?" a boy said.

Yugi nodded. "Sure."

Then another other boy moved in taking in their trunks with him.

"Say, I never have seen you three before. Are you the new transfer students?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, we're from Japan and the one sitting is from Egypt. He got his letter while he was abroad, so the school took him in. My name is Yugi, this is Ryou and that's Malik." Yugi answered.

"The name's Dean and he's Seamus." Dean Thomas said as they all shook hands.

"Do all Japanese wizards have weird hair?" Seamus asked suddenly.

Ryou knew that one had been coming, "To tell you the truth, in our school we had even wackier styles than Yugi."

Seamus raised an eyebrow, "Really? Did you style your hair like _that_?"

"Actually, it's the way it is. I was born with it." Yugi admitted.

Dean only blinked, "That's… weird."

Seamus looked at Shay who was perching on Yugi's shoulder. "Is that Phoenix yours?" he said awed.

"Um, yeah. He came-"

"By the way, what's Hogwarts like?" Malik asked completely changing the subject.

"Oh yeah, you're new students. Most likely you'll be sorted into the four houses at Hogwarts. We're both from Gryffindor. The other houses are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." Seamus explained clearly saying the last house as though he was disgusted.

"What's wrong with Slytherin?" Ryou asked.

Dean immediately answered that one, "Gryffindor and Slytherin students have always loathed each other. Well, seemingly they always cheat and think they're the best because they're all from pureblood wizarding families."

"So how do you do the Sorting?" Malik questioned.

"They only put the old Sorting Hat on your head and it'll call out the house you're in." Seamus answered.

Yugi looked to the two Hogwarts students, "But how does it know what house you'll fit in if it just randomly calls a house name?"

Dean was silent for a moment and said, "Well… it kind of reads your mind or something. At least that's what I felt…"

Just above the boys in spirit form the three yamis were paying attention to the conversation….

-((Reads the mind? More like invading privacy.))- Yami snorted. The last time someone invaded his mind he was not happy with (Shadi), now he had to have a stupid hat looking into Yugi's and his mind. So much for Privacy Rights in the central wizarding world…

-((You're quite touchy Pharaoh.))- Bakura looked to Yami.

-((I wouldn't doubt the Pharaoh, if the hat knows we're inside them, we just might get into Slytherin. That's not part of the plan remember?))- Marik pointed out.

-((Fine, Professor Ryu did say we shouldn't be in Slytherin…but what if the hat insists?))- Bakura asked.

-((Make sure it doesn't put us into _that house_ or should I say do what it takes to make that hat _obey_.))- Yami stated.

-((Yes! Pharaoh's asking us to do _what he says_ Marik!))- Bakura grinned.

-((Almighty Pharaoh, we shall _definitely obey_ to cause havoc!))- Marik bowed in a mischievous manner.

"In our first year the hat said it would eat itself if there was a smarter hat than it. You could say it's the smartest hat around." Dean finished.

Yugi asked "Speaking of hats…"

But Yugi never got to finish his question. Immediately everyone outside the compartment who was walking around stopped and even the compartment across them had their faces glued to the compartment window to see an individual walk by…

"What's going on?" Ryou asked.

"That's Harry Potter. He's in our year and House too." Seamus answered.

Dean looked to the three seemingly confused why the three didn't react at all.

"Oh." Malik said.

"What do you mean 'Oh'! Do you guys even know about him at all!" Seamus said somewhat amazed.

"Yeah, he fought the Death Eaters in the Ministry and is said to be the Chosen One, but doesn't mean we all have to gape at him every time he passes." Malik said reasonably.

Yugi would agree to that one already, since he was the DM world champion. At least he knew how it felt to be stared at.

"You foreigners are weird. Even if you're muggle born." Dean addmited.

"You could say that." Ryou said. The weirder fact given that they actually had two souls in one body.

Most of the journey through the train they talked about what Hogwarts was all about. The conversation shifted from the school ghosts, about the castle, Quidditch and soon to even Duel Monsters…

"I heard the Duel Monsters Elite and World Champion Duellists are from Japan! Do you know who they are?" Dean asked.

The three were pretty silent… that's the hardest question they would answer….

"Um…" Ryou was about to speak.

But Seamus beat him to it, "It's alright, you don't have tell us now. But they're going to announce it pretty soon. I heard they were muggles."

-((And they're pretty much right in front of you…))- Yami commented.

-((Damn straight!))- Bakura added.

"I bet they're really smart since the game is based on strategy." Dean pointed out.

-((That's right! We're smart!))- Marik did a peace sign.

The hikaris sweat dropped hearing their yamis mind links…

"It's already getting dark, you think we should change into our robes?" Malik said quickly as he looked to the window.

"Sorry, I guess we lost track of time. Dean and I will change in another compartment. We made a promise to someone we'll meet them." Seamus said and left the compartment.

"That was close." Yugi said as he got up to get his robes.

Ryou was not happy at all, "How soon are they going to announce that actually we're _the ones_ that are the top duellists?"

"More sooner than expected, I guess." Malik sighed.

The three changed to their robes in silence. From here, they couldn't afford to let their guard down. And from here, their mission had just started…

-----------------------------------

_Somewhere in the United Kingdom_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Main Hall_

_1st of September_

_7:00 PM (Local Time)_

------------------------------------

The three transfers waited for the Sorting… So far getting into Hogwarts was going pretty well…

_Flashback_

Just a few minutes ago…

Just after they arrived, they got off the train and were leaded by Professor McGonagall to the castle, separating them with the first years that went over the lake on small boats. Just as the spies of the Order reported she was a strict and teacher not to be crossed with. Even so, she welcomed them warmly as new students into Hogwarts.

"I've already received a letter from Professor Ryu to look for three most 'easy to spot out of the crowd' students." The old witch smiled to the three.

"Really?" Yugi asked. 

Professor McGonagall chuckled. "Actually, your headmaster was from Gryffindor House as well. Odd was he, but he always achieved the highest marks and became one of the youngest Headmasters in the wizarding world at the age of thirty-five. He also said you three are very talented, I will be expecting very high of you all."  
"I guess." Malik nodded.

"You three will be sorted after the first years since all of you are in your Sixth Year. Make yourselves presentable before you enter the hall." And with that, the transfiguration teacher left them behind the first years.

"That's odd. Our yamis haven't said anything since we left the train." Ryou said in Japanese.

Yugi also switch to his native tongue, "You think they're not looking forward to the Sorting?"

"Not really, seems as though they're actually planning to do something." Malik said.

_Back to the present_

Soon the main hall was quiet as all of them stared at a somewhat old wizard pointy extremely dirty hat and the hat burst into song…

------------------------------------------

In times of old when I was new

And Hogwarts barely started

The founders of our noble school

Thought never to be parted:

United by under a common goal,

They had the selfsame yearning,

To make the world's best magic school

And pass along their learning.

'Together we will build and teach!'

The four good friends decided

And never did they dream that they

Might some day be divided,

For there were such friends anywhere

As Slytherin and Gryffindor?

Unless it was the second pair

Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?

So how could it have gone so wrong?

How could such friendships fail?

Why, I was there so I could tell

The whole sad, sorry tale.

Said Slytherin, 'We'll teach just those

Whose ancestry is the purest.'

Said Ravenclaw, 'We'll teach just those whose

Intelligence is the surest.'

Said Gryffindor, 'We'll teach all those

With brave deeds to their name,'

Said Hufflepuff, 'I'll teach the lot,

And treat them just the same.'

These differences caused little strife

When they first came to light,

For each of the four founders had

A house that in which they might

Take only those they wanted, so,

For instance, Slytherin

Took only pure-bloods wizards

Of great cunning, just like him,

And those of the sharpest mind

Were taught by Ravenclaw

While the bravest and the boldest

Went to daring Gryffindor.

Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,

And taught them all she knew,

Thus the houses and their founders

Retained friendships firm and true.

So Hogwarts worked in harmony

For several happy years,

But then discord crept among us

Feeding our faults and fears.

The houses that, like pillars of four,

Had once held up our school,

Now turned upon each other and,

Divided sought to rule.

And for a while it seemed the school

Must meet an early end,

What with duelling and fighting

And clash of friend on friend

And at last there came a morning

When old Slytherin departed

And though the fighting died out

He left us quite downhearted.

And ever since the founder four

Were whittled down to three

Have the house been united

As they were once and meant to be.

And now the Sorting Hat is here

And you all know the score:

I sort you into houses

Because that's what I'm for,

But this year I'll go further,

Listen closely to my song:

Though condemned I am to split you

Still I worry that it's wrong,

Though I must fulfil my duty

And must quarter every year

Still I wonder whether Sorting

May not bring the end I fear.

Oh, know the perils, read the signs,

The warning history shows,

For our Hogwarts is in danger

From external, deadly foes

And we must reunite inside her

Or we'll crumble from within

I have told you, I have warned you…

Let the Sorting now begin.

_-Chapter 11, The Sorting Hat's New Song, Pg.184-187, British Hard Cover, HP & the Order of the Phoenix-_

--------------------------------------- 

The main hall mostly clapped but yet there was a lot of murmuring, whispers, and many students were exchanging remarks with their neighbours.

-(Finally that's over! I can't stand any more of those bla bla bla… we must unite…warning this… sad story that…NOT MY PROBLEM!)- Malik said it all in one mind link.

Ryou looked rather bored as well. How many prophecies and warnings did he hear about the end of the world this summer? –(It might be the reason our yamis never came out of our soul rooms. They were expecting this might happen.)-

On the contrary, Yugi was silent and gave no comment to the other two. Hearing about warnings about a fight to save the world had been daily food to this hikari. He guessed he was so used to these warnings he didn't really mind to hear them. The school, from Yugi's point of view had yet to learn from the story of the four founders. In the beginning, the houses shouldn't have separated like now; it was just too easy making them go against each other. He now realized why Professor Ryu didn't have such a Sorting in Takazumiryu Magic School, he didn't want to turn the school into another Hogwarts… a Hogwarts where everyone only cared for their own kind and at times rejecting others.

Even though Yami hadn't made a single comment after they left the train and the Sorting Hat's Song, Yugi knew all to well that his darker half was listening. Yami wasn't the type of person who denied any form of information, his mind was strategic and if opportunities to any information about weaknesses leaked out, Yugi would say Yami wouldn't even think about wasting time to know them. But surely, he didn't know what the other yamis were thinking… the other two were unpredictable…

And thus the Sorting began. Professor McGonagall called out the names of the first years by alphabetical order from their families' names. Every time a student was accepted into a house everyone would clap. For Malik it felt so drowsy that he just wanted to get the Sorting done and over with. The other two only looked in slight sympathy remembering just how late his yami made him stay up for the night just before the first day in Hogwarts. After a long while the Sorting of the first years ended. Now it was their turn…

Professor Dumbledore stood up and announced, "You may know there are three students left from our line. These three have come far from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School as transfers in their Sixth year. They are also accelerated students who have been advised by their Headmaster to come to Hogwarts to improve their talents, so please make them fell welcomed as a part of our school family."

Professor McGonagall then shouted, "Bakura, Ryou!"

Ryou sat on the stool and lifted the old dusty hat on top of his head…

--Hmm… An intelligent one, no doubt about that…-- the Hat said

------------------------

Meanwhile inside Ryou's Soul Room… 

------------------------

--Hmm… An intelligent one, no doubt about that…-- the Hat said.

While the host of the body was focused on wearing the Hat, the Sorting hat would travel into a new student's soul room unnoticed. It hopped here and there, looking inside what was the soul room filled with and if possible looked into the memory of the student.

-- You've got a heart of a Gryffindor…but wait, your mind works as a Ravenclaw…and yet you try hard as a Hufflepuff. Difficult one indeed… --

The hat observed Ryou's soul room that had many things to do with the Occult theme, yet his soul room portrayed him of being a good hearted person instead. But then something caught the Hat's attention when he exited out of Ryou's Soul room… that on the other side there was _another_ soul room door… The Hat's eyes narrowed… As far as it knew, in every student he had ever Sorted…the students only had one soul room… so _whom _did this one belong to?

-- This is very peculiar… You have two souls… Hmm… and this one seems to be… --

The Hat made its way and opened the only slightly opened door. And when he entered it… the room somehow felt as if it was dreadful, eerie, old, and fore boarding. Only one thing came to mind…

-- More suited to Slytherin… Where should I put you? --

This time he felt uneasiness from Ryou as though it was something private. The Hat entered and started to search where the host of this soul room was… wasn't just any ordinary one; it seemed to be a very long tunnel that could lead to the main soul room. Without further or do the Hat made its way as quickly as possible through…

'_Click.'_

The Hat looked down… It had pressed some sort of button…did it mean something wasn't right? The answer was only to be greeted by a….

Huge boulder of extremely sharp axes rolling towards the hat… 

The Hat was starting to regret entering the soul room in the first place.

"WHOA!" the Hat screamed and made a run for it…

And somehow safely got into the main soul room slamming the door before the boulder had a chance to crash in. This time the Hat's jaw dropped as it looked into a soul room full with treasures and gold… Who ever owned this soul room was pretty rich… by stealing of course… But where was the owner of this Soul room?

"You have a lot of guts of bothering someone who wants some decent sleep." Said a very grumbling irritated voice from behind.

The Hat jumped as the owner appeared from the midst of the shadows… -- The other seems to have a more sinister side… -- it commented.

"WHAT!"

-- A very dark nature if you ask me. --

Bakura was furious… His eyes had become sharper… Just when he wanted some decent sleep, this idiotic Hat caused an awful lot of noise and the thief was not content about its commentary either… The Pharaoh was right… someone who looked into your mind was aggravating and had to be taught a lesson… A really unpleasant one at that…

The Thief yanked the Hat from its pointy edge… and lifted it to eye level…

"I know what to do with you… Now listen good or I will take that soul of yours." Bakura smiled evilly.

The Hat gulped…

-----------------------------------

_Inside the Main Hall…_

-----------------------------------

Ten minutes had past and the Hat hadn't made a move… Everyone only stared at Ryou why the Hat hadn't said anything at all..

'_GR-RY-FIN-IN-D-D-DOR!'_

After the Hat shouted just like a person being punched in the face a few times and it fell to the floor… Everyone in the hall couldn't decide whether to clap or stare what just happened.

Ryou looked to the Hat feeling sorry for it. _What on earth did his yami do?_ For one thing Ryou knew it must've been painful and somehow the Hat got on to Bakura's bad side…

"Gryffindor." Professor McGonagall repeated. And the Gryffindor table applauded with the rest of the houses as Ryou made his way towards the table.

-((STUPID NUMBSKULL HAT! SUITS HIM JUST FINE! IT'S HIS FAULT FOR BOTHERING ME!))- Bakura shouted and slammed his soul room shut.

Ryou groaned… This was definitely going to be a long year…

Soon the old witch called another name…

"Ishtar, Malik!"

Malik looked rather unsure about wearing the Hat on his head… Nevertheless it was pretty simpler to just get over with…

-- Hmm… you've been through a lot haven't you? --

For some reason, Malik had now started to get the point on why the Thief was pissed and literally thrashed the cap a couple of times… The Hat was now invading his privacy…

----------------------------

_Inside Malik's Soul Room_

----------------------------

-- You're a brave one and you wish to prove yourself. Hmm… You're talented and intelligent. Ah, yes… Your ancestry line is pretty long. You've got four house qualities here… Now which one should you be in? --

This time the Hat made a quick scan over Malik's Soul room full of papyruses and many ancient documents. There was also a poster of a new model motorcycle that just had come out in the mid year. But then the Hat noticed something again…

Yet another soul room door… 

-- My, my, another that has two souls. --

This time the Hat was slightly more careful when he entered this soul room. The door creaked and the Hat looked inside carefully and entered quietly. The room he entered was the main soul room, a cave full of weapons such as swords, arrows, axes, and well one could say _everything that was sharp_. This time the owner was in the middle of the room that appeared to be sharpening a katana…

-- The other seems quite gloomy. --

Marik only gave a death glare at the hat…

-- Quite the killer fellow, no? --

Marik's killer monsters were now coming from through the walls…

-- An insane one no doubt. -- The Hat swallowed.

All the weapons in the soul room were floating in the air making aim on the victim…

-- Umm…help… -- the Hat shivered.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SOUL ROOM!"

--------------------------------

Back to the main hall… 

--------------------------------

"_GrYfFiNdOr!"_ the Hat shouted throughout the hall in a squeaky voice.

This time most of the hall was laughing and soon continued with claps from the crowd… it was the first time the Hat did something like _that_…

Even as Malik gave the Hat back to McGonagall the Hat jumped straight into the old witches' arms as if Malik was someone to be feared of…

Malik made his way to the Gryffindor table and was greeted by his new friends.

"Nice of you to be with us! My name is Ron Weasly. That was a great joke! How on earth did you scare the hell of the Sorting Hat?" Ron asked still amazed at what he saw.

"To tell you the truth, _I didn't_ _really do anything_." Malik said as he sat down beside Ron. _It was his darker half who did it…_

And now the last student…

"Mutou, Yugi!"

Most of the hall was whispering about his hair, but nonetheless Yugi only ignored the whisperings and wore the hat on his head.

-- A brave and noble heart you have. We have an extremely talented wizard here! You dearly love your friends and have gone through many things together… --

--------------------------------

Inside Yugi's Soul Room… 

--------------------------------

For one thing the hat had noticed out of the three new sixth years was that Yugi's soul room reflected a kind of kindness and trust in others. There were a lot of games here and there, it didn't show how childish he was but oppositely indicated Yugi's way of thinking was revolved around games, making the boy an advanced strategist despite his appearance would make you think he was normal. But now the Hat's eye twitched…

There was yet _another_ soul room door…

However, this time there was someone who was guarding the door…

The Hat looked at the boy who was guarding the Soul room door. He had very much the same body and face like Yugi, save for the eyes were sharper in a shade of purple-crimson and he looked older than the last of the new transfer students. For one thing, the boy leaning on the soul room door with his arms crossed didn't seem to be pleased…

"Um…hello there." The Hat greeted. "You have a lot of courage, extremely smart certainly, and yet dark personality at the same time."

"Did your mother ever tell you to mind your own business?" Yami said flatly as his eyes narrowed to a killer glare.

"It's my duty to sort-"

"Wait. Oh yeah, you don't have mother do you? I'd prefer you get out and sort Yugi straight away without entering my soul room." Yami said in a cold icy voice.

"I'm afraid I can't." the Hat said defiantly even though there was a trace of fear in its voice.

"Actually, I'm asking you _nicely_." Yami advised the Hat even though the last word was more emphasized as a threat.

"Just how nice are you?"

Yami was about to reply… but there was a knock from his soul room door… 'Now, who could that be?' Yami thought.

-----------------------------------------

A few minutes after, back to the main hall… 

-----------------------------------------

'_GRYFFINDOR!' _the Sorting Hat bellowed. Yugi quickly gave the Hat to McGonagall and went to the table. Looks like the Hat went back to normal. The crowd clapped, but some of the students were quite disappointed that nothing happened when Yugi had put on the Sorting Hat. It was proved to be _wrong_… when the Hat twitched wildly, started to chew, and even bite its round base…

"Sorting Hat, what is wrong with you!" Professor McGonagall looked unimpressed.

"THERE'S A HAT SMARTER THAN ME! I'LL EAT MYSELF! I'LL EAT MYSELF UNTIL I'M GONE!" the hat wailed.

Everyone looked at Yugi who was now sitting beside Ryou. The Hikari looked very clueless what had happened; though he bet Yami did something…

The hall howled with laughter of students… The other professors only raised their eyebrows…

The students thought it was an incredible joke… most of the mischief-makers in Gryffindor house were now congratulating Yugi for whatever he did. Despite the haunting of news of deaths in the Daily Prophet, it seemed it was a good way to start the year off by seeing something this astounding.

Rather frustrated, Professor McGonagall stunned the Sorting Hat to prevent from ripping itself more after it bit a chunk of the round base. It looked like someone had to stitch up the sorting hat back together...she rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.

Dumbledore stood up and announced, "And let the feast begin!"

Soon the golden plates on their tables were piled with food consisting of roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, mashed potatoes, sausages, fried eggs, beacon and steak, peas, carrots, gravy, sandwiches, chips and even hamburgers.

Without waiting the three duellists were now placing food and eating to their hearts content. To Ryou's surprise the yami didn't came out at all. It seemed Bakura wanted to sleep badly, but the hikari was glad he had the food to himself. He didn't want to make a fool out of himself by eating meat like Bakura. Malik on the hand was in a conversation with a very smart girl named Hermione Granger. She was quite pleased to start a conversation with someone who was at her level of thinking. They were mostly discussing about translating hieroglyphs from Ancient Runes. Yugi who was enjoying himself was in a conversation with Ron and Ginny.

"That was the most awesome joke I've seen. I bet my brothers would really like to meet you." Ron exclaimed.

"Brothers?" Yugi asked.

"Fred and George. They own the joke shop on Diagon Alley." Ginny explained.

"I've been there." Yugi nodded. "I think it's great."

"Hmm I wonder where Harry is." Ron looked around.

"Harry?"

"Harry Potter, he's my best friend. Somehow the Daily Prophet seemed to brand him the Chosen One." Ron said sarcastically.

"Well I think it's just plain stupid how the prophet is putting out everything the latest news. They're always bias." Yugi admitted.

"I think Harry would like to meet all of you three." Ginny said.

"I'm actually looking forward to meet him." Yugi smiled at the red headed boy and girl.

Yugi went back to eating his hamburger and chips on his plate. It's odd Harry wasn't there, but the oddest thing that happened was if Yami had taught the Sorting Hat a lesson… why did it say that there was another hat smarter than it?

-((Wondering I've done something abiou?))- Yami finally spoke.

-(You could say that.)- Yugi replied.

-((I did make sure the Hat never entered my soul room, but I never made it eat itself.))-

-(Then who did?)-

-((One of Dark Magician's Magical Hats that came from my soul room. Poor thing, it never had a chance going against the Magical Hat's riddle…tsk tsk. It should start learning how marching into one's mind or memory is impolite.))- Yami said in a not-so sympathetic tone.

Yugi was about to say something to Yami when he noticed Harry had come to the table late and his nose was bleeding. His best friends Hermione and Ron quickly cleaned him up and soon he was sitting across the table where Ryou, Yugi and Malik sat.

"You missed the Sorting, anyway," said Hermione, as Ron dived for a chocolate gateau.

"Hat said something interesting?" asked Harry, taking a treacle tart.

"More of the same really… advising us all to unite in the face of our enemies."

"But the Hat went nuts was even better!" Ron exclaimed.

"It went nuts?" Harry looked confused.

"It started to eat itself! Harry, these are the transfers that Professor Dumbledore told you about!" Ron introduced him to the somewhat odd three.

The most bizarre thing Harry first thought of was their hair but later dismissed the oddity and shook hands with them.

"Harry Potter, nice to meet you." He shook their hands.

"Yugi Mutou."

"Malik Ishtar."

"Ryou Bakura."

Afterwards their greetings, three mostly asked what was Hogwarts like. To Harry's surprise, the three were polite and never asked about Harry's scar, if he was the Chosen One or would literally gape at him. Most of the time they would ask other people's opinion and advises how Hogwarts was than worry about everything that was happening in the wizarding world. Harry was so taken into light how the foreign students were willing to become friends without directly treading over personal matters. At times so dark like this, the three had made Gryffindor house a happy start of the year.

Sadly the so-called happiness vanished when Professor Snape was announced as the newly appointed Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. There was a lot of buzzing around the hall that finally Professor Snape had got his wish. The three new students only looked at him. It was expected, since they knew beforehand from the Order. To everyone else, because they were new it didn't seem that they know anything about how dreadful Snape was. Soon the hall emptied as students made their way to their dormitories.

To Malik's delight, all three of them got a whole dormitory to themselves since the other where full to five per dorm. He wasted no time setting up the hologram and security devices around the large room. Ryou on the other hand was busy getting books out of his truck. Yugi went straight to set up his laptop and happily saw it worked in Hogwarts.

"I can't wait to see their faces when we got muggle technology that works." Malik chuckled.

"We got everything ready so far for tomorrow. I'm going to bed." Ryou said and fell on his bed asleep.

"Same here." Malik said and followed suit.

Yugi only looked to his laptop at a list of instructions.

-((Get some sleep abiou. I'll take over, it's important we get this task done tomorrow. You'll need your strength.))- Yami said.

"Thanks."

As Yugi slept, Yami poured over the instructions on making a room of requirement…

-----------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Gryffindor Common Room_

_2nd of September_

_Morning (Local Time)_

------------------------------------

That morning Yugi, Malik, and Ryou met with Harry and his two best friends since they were new and needed to be shown which way the main hall was and to which classes they were going to attend.

"You all got your OWLs Results?" Harry asked.

The three nodded.

"May I see them?" Hermione requested.

"Um, sure." Yugi handed Ryou's, Malik's and his results over to Hermione.

Hermione looked as though she'd been struck by lightning. "No WAY! You got three Exceptionally Outstanding!"

"A what!" Harry and Ron said together.

"An Exceptionally Outstanding! It's an equivalent of an O-star! You'd have to get a 300 percent on your exams to get this grade!" Hermione said everything quickly as though she had an asthma attack.

Harry looked to their grades… All three got E.O.s for DADA and Transfiguration. It seemed Yugi was specialized at Potions, Malik was an expert in Ancient Runes and Ryou unbelievably was had an extremely high mark for Divination. All of their other grades were Outstanding and they all only had two Exceeds Expectations.

"Say, Yugi, you mind if you helped me out in Transfiguration?" Harry asked as they walked through the Corridor.

"No problem." Yugi smiled.

"Thanks!" Harry said.

As the three walked in front with Harry, Ron and Hermione tailed behind them.

"I need to study harder." Hermione said determinedly.

"Face it Hermione, _you lost_." Ron said trying to slow down her pace.

"But-But-" Hermione stuttered.

"Come on Hermione, look at you! You're jealous! Calm down alright!" Ron halted the girl to make sure she was breathing properly.

"I'm-not-jealous." Hermione said those words in less than a quarter of a second.

"Fine, you're _not_ jealous. But make sure you don't have a heart attack." Ron advised the stressed girl.

-----------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Main Hall_

_2nd of September_

_Morning (Local Time)_

------------------------------------

After they all had finished eaten their breakfast, Yugi, Malik and Ryou were the first to have an appointment together to meet with their Head of House.

"A stupendous set of grades you have here, Mr. Mutou, Mr. Bakura and Mr. Ishtar. All of you have very exceptional grades in Transfiguration, I'll be expecting highly of you three to be in my class." Professor McGonagall.

The three nodded.

"Which subjects do you wish to continue to NEWTs level?" The old witch asked.

Without further or do, they all chose Dark Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, and Care of Magical Creatures as their main subjects. Yugi chose to continue doing History of Magic and Herbology, Ryou selected Divination and Astronomy and Malik had chosen Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Professor McGonagall didn't need to ask about what job they were aiming for since she was just too pleased to find out the new accelerated students had entered into her house. There was going to be plenty of House points this year for Gryffindor, especially they also had listed themselves for the Quidditch team…

Soon their timetables were sorted, everyone made their way to their classes. Malik had gone with Hermione to Ancient Runes; Yugi went straight to History of Magic, while Ryou went to Divination with a Gryffindor girl named Parvati Partil.

And so… their first day had just started at Hogwarts…

TO BE CONTINUED…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yami and Bakura working together…huahaha… bet Yugi and Ryou are thinking the unthinkable…

Their statuses as DM champions aren't revealed yet… but beware when they do…

Yami send yet another order to Bakura and Marik to cause havoc…

Loved the part where the hat eats itself! (Laughs) I got the idea when I reread the first book when it introduced itself that it would eat itself if there were a smarter hat.

Hermione gets an asthma attack at our YGO E.O.s grades folks!

Woooohooo! Finally Done! So this is how the Sorting went! I really enjoyed writing this chapter! A total of 6700 words! Hope you enjoyed it! I know it took a long while but I wanted to put everything I could in this chapter. I made the Sorting a bit more interesting as every time the Hat sorts out students, it would always enter the soul room. Since Yugi and co. have their yamis, I think the Hat was in a state of shock when it found out…mwahahahaha… Well what do you think? Good, bad or have an opinion of your own what should happen next? Just post a review! I don't mind whether it's long or short, but any contribution is most welcomed!

Now for Review Feedback!

**To Radzilla:**

Thanks for making the 37th review! I've waited for a while to get to this number aim review! Thank you so much for writing this review! I didn't realize I wrote Kaiba so well… but maybe he should make an appearance once in a while… Malfoy won't always be picked on really… like in this chapter, but I plan to in the future in some chapters though (not all)… Don't you worry about Snape, his turn will be in the next chapter… Huahahaha… (Laughs Evilly) … Hope you keep R&R!

**To kurama and hieis girl:**

Finally got this one updated! I know every time you review is pretty short, but nonetheless I do need a reviewer to nag me about updating more quickly! (Bows) Thank you so much for doing this! Thank to you I can keep onto my deadlines on when the next chapter should be posted. Hope you keep on reading and reviewing!

**To Destiny's Dragon:**

Here you go! The Hogwarts Express and the Sorting! Well as they say three is better than one! I haven't got an appearance of Malfoy in this chapter but there will be plenty more things our yamis will do in the next chapter to Malfoy…And nope, he's not going to be happy when he gets it… Hehehehe… Thanks for reviewing! Hope you liked this chapter and review again!

**To Crazy Hyper Lady:**

Yes, Hermione does get jealous and an asthma attack too… (Laughs)… Don't you worry about our yamis… they're going to get bored… and when they do… looks like they will have some fun in the Forbidden Forrest in our next chapter… With centaurs? Or with Spiders? Or even with 'darker beings'… You'll just have to find out! Hope you liked his chapter! Don't forget to R&R! Thanks again!

**To Yamiace1321:**

Hermione thinks she will try harder to catch with our YGO characters… poor girl…got herself a near heart attack! Huhahahahaha…Who's going to be the best in Harry's year now? The Sorting Hat has started to eat itself! Ever since I read the first book I always wondered what it would be like… I guess it got into my fic! Thanks for review there! Hope you R&R for this chapter too!

**To ****Cute lil Yami**

You check everyday? Whoa, that's what I would call dedication! I'm really thankful for spreading the news for your readers on you story too! Yeah I guess I wanted to make technology play apart in this story since J.K. Rowling herself hardly involves them in the HP series… gives a challenge on what to write for the plot for me. Yep, they have met Harry, Ron, and Hermione… though they got Hermione's bad side about the OWLs Results…hehehe… I finally got over those tests and I'm on a holiday. The next chapter should come soon so hope you R&R this chapter!

**To Tira's Host:**

They'll be more Duelling in the next chapter I promise you… who won that duel? (Ron VS Hermione on Chapter 7) The answer is going to come out in the next chapter! Most of chapter will also be about the lessons though… but hey, I need idea in the next chapter! So don't hesitate to drop any suggestions! Thanks for reviewing! I hope you review for this chapter too!

**To Alice Lin:**

Thanks for saying you love this fic! It takes a LOT of research to make this fic as it is. (That includes reading back all the Harry Potter books!) Hope you loved this update! There are still hints on finding out the Duel Monsters Champion and Elite Duellists now and then… but it'll come soon… maybe after another few chapters… Thanks for reviewing and contributing an idea, hope you keep on reviewing!

**To HellFireChan:**

Thanks! There's a lot of review feedback I have to right now because the increasing numbers… but I'm happy you're willing to spare some time in writing and posting it up! It gives me motivation to write the next chapter. I'll definitely keep this fic going on! Thank you for the review and hope you review for this chapter!

**To Yume Li:**

Thank you for reviewing and making this fic your favourite HP/YGO crossover! As many times I said before if you have any ideas for the next chapter please don't hesitate to add them in your review! I like combining ideas and make them into an original plot. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you R&R for this chapter too!

**To Computerfreak101:**

Now for the grand finale… I can't express the gratitude when you wrote this REALLY LONG review… My mouth was totally wide open… and even when you said I should get 300 reviews (at least!) You could say I, myself was in utter shock… believe it or not… About grammar mistakes… I know I did some and I still try my best despite English isn't my first language but I like writing and hopefully I can get the grammar tool fixed… It's gone all nuts since this month…

About this fic… I wanted to make this more on a book-based fic than an AU since I think readers can enjoy and even open their own copies from time to time remembering what happened in the HP & H-BP… I also think important happenings shouldn't be erased since I respect J. K. Rowling's hard work in making the sixth book to us readers how the impossible can happen. About Yami in particular, I wanted him to feel about having a dark side… kind of got bored with the so-called goody goody Yami… so I thought I could experiment what would happen if he got in touch with his darker side… even if it means stealing and quite frankly in this chapter, he works together with the King of Thieves! Hehehehe…

About OC's turning into Gary Stu's or Mary Sues… For the so-called two years I've been reading from one fic to another you could say… I…ALSO…HATE…THEM…AND… THEY… MUST … DIE… I don't like making an OC a main character since I think it just ruins the plot and the main characters of the original Anime/Manga or whatever Story just gets pushed aside…

I intend this to make this story as original as I can so readers and reviewers can enjoy a new colour for YGO/HP crossovers. Any comments, advises and ideas towards the story, please tell me through the review! It's the fun part to experiment many ideas and combining them as one. Thanks for the long review and I hope you review again!

Next on HP, HBP, and the OotS…

There's a Duel Monsters Club that's just been opened…

Lessons with:

Hagrid in Care of Magical Creatures

Professor Snape the so-called double agent

Professor Slughorn discovers Yugi's OWL grade in Potions

Transfiguration… Charms… somehow… the yamis are bored… so where do they go? The Forbidden Forest!

The next chapter:

_**Chapter 9: 'The Fun, the Boring and the Revolting Side of Hogwarts'**_

****

**_NOTE 20th Sept '05: Some spelling/grammar mistakes have been fixed from previous chapters. New chapter will come VERY soon! Actually I'm right in the middleof Snape's class (about up to 2000 words)... well hope the fixed version is better for yur comfort!Next chapter will be LONG... plz be patient... you won't regret reading it!_**


	9. The F, the B, & the R Side of Hogwarts

Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows 

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be representatives of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any thing of YGO and HP in this fic (or food/drink merchandise or anything that are commonly known)...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J.K.Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

**I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:**

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book or any HP book _-text-_

Upcoming paragraph (s) to do with emails, articles or flashbacks _Text_

Status of Duel Monster: (No. Of Stars or Level /ATK/DEF)

Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

**AU Notes:**

Here we go… another chapter done! As much as I want to get this chapter over and done with… I can't do things in a hurry… I swear I wrote the wrong next chapter (as you might notice)…it's supposed to be chapter 9… I'll fix it anyway… sorry about that… mind the mistake coz this author is pretty much human…

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR GETTING ME OVER THE 50 REVIEW POINT!

Got to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire last Thursday! I know there like a LOT of stuff being mucked up but over all, at least it's not as worst as the third movie… If you haven't watch it… do or don't… if you're really a die hard book-fan I suggest don't expect too much out of it… I didn't really expect much but at least it was enjoyable…the only thing was Dumbledore SUCKED… his acting was totally icky… I totally ignore the coot… no offence but it I'm saying it truthfully…

Enough of me… I bet you all want to know what happens next!

Well on to the story!

Enjoy!

_**Chapter 9: 'The Fun, the Boring and the Revolting Side of Hogwarts'**_

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, On the Way to The Gryffindor Common Room_

_2nd of September_

_In between the 2nd and 3rd Period (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------------

Harry yawned as he walked through one of the halls of the castle with Ron to get his books. So far, his first day of NEWTs subjects hadn't really started. He had plenty of empty slots on his timetable. However, he wasn't really looking forward to Snape's first DADA lesson, which had been his most favourite subject…

Speaking of subjects…

Harry looked towards sixth year students who had just came out of their lessons also on their way to classes or their common rooms… Two of them in particular look quite shocked…

Ron instantly asked, "What's wrong? You both seem you've been stunned by electric eels!"

It was Seamus and Dean looking very pale…

"Looks like Professor Dumbledore wasn't kidding when he said they were _accelerated_ students." Dean stated.

Ron looked confused. "How were your lessons?"

"Wow. I guess that's one word to describe it in Ancient Runes." Seamus said.

"What _actually_ happened?" Harry asked nervously, wondering how Hermione was.

Seamus looked like he was trying to search for some words but he then, "We had this vocabulary quiz, it's verbal so all you have to do is say the answer before anyone else does."

"How's Hermione?" Ron quickly blurted.

"Pretty much beaten if you ask me. The vocabulary in the quiz was mostly from our seventh year so I guess she didn't know a few of them. Her answers were close but… if you looked at Malik… He knew every single one." Seamus gulped.

"You're not joking are you?" Harry looked at Seamus in the eyes.

"Not at all. You might've noticed Hermione's not here; I bet she had stayed back with Professor Luther asking everything about Ancient Runes for NEWTs." Dean added.

Harry and Ron looked at each other. Ron looked quite happy; Harry of coarse disapproved of his friend's behaviour and whacked him on the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

Harry then looked to the corridor again, this time Luna Lovegood and Parvati Patil came. On the contrary, they looked rather pleased than shocked like Seamus and Dean.

"Harry! Ron! History of Magic was Excellent!" Luna exclaimed.

Harry and Ron gaped as they could've died from the shock… _EXCELLENT!_… Much of their first five years in History of Magic they used the lesson to take naps because or you could've _died_ hearing Professor Bins' lectures (except for Hermione who had a brain immune system that resisted the boredom)…

"Not Professor Bins, but how Yugi explained every detail of the Goblin Wars was really exciting! I was disappointed at first in order to be a newspaper writer I had to take HOM but I think I don't mind if there's Yugi around." Luna said happily.

"And Ryou as well!" Parvati added. "Professor Trelawney completely adores him! He did some very accurate predictions with Tarot cards. I'm glad he came; I guess Professor Trelawney can forget about how horrible Umbridge was last year."

Ron looked as though he wanted to puke. Harry understood why, somehow the transfers had made their most boring lessons into something everyone enjoyed. How on earth did Yugi made history such an interesting topic in Professor Bins' class? And how accurate were Ryou's predictions that even made his so-called teacher who only predicted gruesome death, like him? One thing Harry had to do… he WILL ask… How did the bloody hell they do it?

Soon they entered the common room…

**-------------------------------------------**

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, Gryffindor Common Room_

_2nd of September_

_In between the 2nd and 3rd Period (Local Time)_

**--------------------------------------------**

Harry and Ron entered the room through the Fat Lady's portrait, this time Hermione appeared out of nowhere.

"Hermione, where have you been?" the red haired asked behind him.

"As-as-asking about Ancient Runes to Professor Luther." She said nervously.

"We heard about it." Harry went straight to the point.

"Oh, about Malik I guess." Hermione said.

Ron shook his head, "Yugi and Ryou too. Can you imagine ANYONE made Professor Bins' class _exciting_?"

"And Ryou must've made pretty gruesome predictions to make Trelawney like him." Harry pointed out.

Hermione looked rather perplexed, "I guess we can find out if they're here."

-------------------------------------

At the one of the Gryffindor common room desks…

-------------------------------------

As the three arrived, many people who passed by or looked at the transfers were whispering to one another. It was soon clear what was the really going on as they reached where Yugi, Malik and Ryou sitting.

Yugi had one headphone around his right ear, while the other rested on his shoulder, the cables linked to his robes and so it was evident he was carrying an MP3 player with him. But what caught most students' eyes that he was casually typing on a laptop as if it meant nothing in the magic world. Another thing that would catch the eyes of the first years that were wondering about was Yugi's golden phoenix, Shay. Shay simply perched on Yugi's shoulder peacefully despite it was being pointed at.

Malik on the other hand was simply browsing on the Internet on his PDA. Mont of course, seemed to prefer the common room than the owlry, he was a falcon and liked to be closer to his master. The falcon perched on Malik's chair, simply death-glaring at anyone who was had any intention to bother Malik or whoever got to close for its comfort.

Ryou also was holding something that of technology, or you could say a handy cam and seemed busy recording the tarot cards in front of him. His pet owl seemed to like hopping around on the desk while happily twittering beside him, guarding that no one was to bother its master while he was doing a reading. Unlucky, Neville Longbottom got too close while he was trying to chase his toad Trevor. Apophis immediately kept on, pecking Neville's head, until he was at a distance, Ryou of course instantly asked an apology for Apophis' behaviour.

Harry was awed when he saw Yugi's phoenix, as far as he knew the only person who had one was Professor Dumbledore. Not anyone can have a phoenix's trust, to Harry's conclusion Yugi maybe was a good person at heart.

"Is that phoenix yours Yugi?" Harry asked the spiky haired teen.

Yugi looked at Harry and smiled, "Well, he's not mine really. He's more of a friend who's always around."

"A friend?" Ron looked puzzled.

"I don't own him or anything, he just wants to come along. Harry, Hermione and Ron this is Shay. Likewise."

The golden phoenix looked at the new comers as if interested and jumped on Harry's left shoulder. At first Harry slightly cringed because of its claws were holding tight, but soon the phoenix's grip loosen and snuggled its head on Harry's neck making a purring sound.

"I guess it means Shay likes you Harry." Yugi concluded.

"How long have you been with Shay?" Hermione said suspiciously.

"From the day I got my wand." Yugi said smoothly. Or rather, Yami had taken over Yugi's body.

"Really? That must've been a long time you were together." Ron said.

Yami nodded. "You could say that." Though actually they have been together for only over a year.

"Say Yugi, what's your wand?" Harry asked.

"Golden Phoenix Feather, White Brilliant Maple, Dark Mahogany, Nine and a quarter inches long."

Hermione immediately reacted, "Is the Golden Phoenix feather from Shay?"

"Yes." Yami said without giving any clues.

"Awesome." Ron said amazed.

"How can you have two types of wood for your wand?" Hermione asked again.

"The wand maker suggested it." Yami shrugged it off.

"RATS!"

The others looked to Malik or you could say a frustrated Marik.

Yami only raised an eyebrow looking unimpressed at the darker tomb keeper who had just lost a game of Bookworm on Yahoo's Games.

Ron went straight to the point, "How do these muggle things work?"

Yami's eyes looked at Ron, "By magic of course."

"Um, I think what Ron meant how do you use muggle contraptions in a very magical dense area?" Hermione said flatly.

"I forgot, in Japan it's natural to see technology being used, well in our school it was." Marik admitted as he pushed the start button to start a new game.

"But really, how do you make them work? Must've been pretty complex." Harry stated.

Yami shook his head, "Not really, unless you know what incantation and which chip you use the spell on it's quite simple."

"I'm still trying to figure out what these predictions mean." Ryou said not taking his eyes off the tarot cards.

Ron now focused on Ryou who was recording his readings on a handy cam, "What made Professor Trelawney like you?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't know." The white haired teen said honestly.

"Actually our Divination teacher loves any prediction to do with bad luck and gruesome ways of dieing." Hermione explained.

Ryou's face slightly paled and he looked worried, "I guess that's why she's complimenting me. Not that I'm happy so far how my predictions came out."

Harry now was bewildered, "Your not happy getting compliments from Professor Trelawney? I mean, she's one of those hard to please teachers and even if your predictions were good and accurate she'll give you a D instead!"

"Actually, the cards have been acting so weird when I got to Hogwarts. Every single reading I do, it turns out bad." Ryou explained.

"You're not kidding are you?" Ron asked awkwardly.

Ryou sighed. "No. I swear I had better results when I was in Diagon Alley but in Hogwarts… it's as though the cards are spooked."

Harry and co. now were the ones who were worrying.

"By the way, don't we have DADA right now?" Yami reminded.

"Not that any of the Gryffindors are looking forward to it." Ron snorted.

Ryou quickly picked up his tarot cards, "But I think it be would better if we're not late."

Everyone agreed, got their books and went towards DADA class.

--------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom_

_2nd of September_

_Third Period (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------

Snape had imposed his personality on the room already; it was gloomier than the usual as curtains had been drawn over the windows, and was lit by candlelight. New pictures adorned on the walls, many of them showing people who appeared to be in pain, sporting grisly injuries or strangely contorted body parts. Nobody spoke as they settled down, looking around at the shadowy, gruesome pictures.

_-Chapter 9,The Half Blood-Prince, Pg.170, British Hard Cover, HP & the Half-Blood Prince-_

-----------------------------------------

-((The classroom seems homey for Snape, doesn't it Pharaoh?))- The thief commented.

Yami didn't seem surprised. -((Yes, it would seem so.))-

-((Huh, I bet that coot went all chirped while he was putting those paintings on.))- Marik added.

You might be wondering where the hikaris have gone no? For one thing, the hikaris had made a pact with their yamis in order to succeed in DADA, considering the teacher who taught them would most likely aim for new students and try to get them off guard. Especially when they had gotten an Exceptionally Outstanding or an equivalent of an O-Star for the subject, you could say they were like dummies in a car crash experiment. For this special subject, the yamis couldn't have even tried to resist the offer…

Yami thought for a while, -((I wonder how this lesson will end…))-

-((The end already? Don't you sound too gloomy for our favourite subject?))- Marik asked.

Bakura cut in, -((Wait! Don't tell me. You got something _dark_ forming in your mind right?))- He smiled gleefully.

-((Aw, the tomb robber guessed _it_. So much for surprising you two.))- Yami sighed.

-((Well, we'll leave it to you Pharaoh. Just make it _good_.))- Marik advised.

-((_Painfully good!_))- Bakura smirked.

Yami only smiled. -((I _will_, and I won't _even try_.))-

And so the DADA class started, and much to Marik's expectations he was right that Snape was clearly enjoying teaching by how he described the Dark Arts. '_He loves it to death._' Marik thought sarcastically. He noticed Hermione being the know it all again, but he wasn't in the mood to answer Snape's question. Marik could've answer the question in a more of a _descriptive gruesome_ way of course but… again he wasn't really bothered about some stupid questions. All he wanted to do was get to the practical!

The three basically got a seat in the back so mostly those who were in front were being asked. Bakura was twiddling with his wand through his fingers, waiting for something amusing to happen. Much to his distaste, Hogwarts had just started doing non-verbal spells. Well… at least he was ahead of everyone and Snape won't pester him seeing the tomb robber knew all too well on doing jinxes and curses in silence. Talking about silence… maybe he should try them on prefects tonight… yeah that would sound _lovely_… but what Bakura was waiting for was what the Pharaoh was going to do…

Yami simply watched as everything unfolded calmly, a plan formulating in his head. The most important aspect of being a strategist was to observe and find everything that might be useful around you. He looked at the other students around the class trying to figure out how everything in this room was Snape's territory. When one was in an enemy's territory, he had to be mighty careful. But sadly, even the enemy can underestimate you and not be prepared with… _the element of surprise_.

Immediately everyone had been split into twos. All three of them separated and went to get other partners. Snape some how got an idea of watching the three new students as he ordered the Slytherins to be their partners. It was his intention if the three cheated by whispering, he (Snape) could dock off house points from Gryffindor. It didn't matter if the Slytherins were whispering; they were in his house anyway. Crabbe went against Yami, Goyle had Bakura, and last Malfoy was with Marik.

Bakura smiled as though his wished came true, Marik couldn't wait to start since he didn't get enough by only stealing and shattering parts of the vanishing cabinet from Malfoy in Diagon Alley, and Yami looked amused on how foolish Snape's arrangements were.

-((This is a _pleasant_ way to start the day.))- Marik smirked.

-((Now, now, be _nice_ to our _victims, _boys.))- Yami pointed out.

-((But of course, _agonizingly nice_! How can I forget?))- Bakura cackled.

Hermione, who had successfully deflected Neville's Jelly-Legs Jinx, was completely ignored. Snape didn't paid attention on how neither Malfoy nor his bodyguards were, since he figured the new transfers were suffering being jinxed by the Slytherins. It's a pity a Death Eater like him didn't know about the muggle law that also worked in the wizarding world too…Murphy's Law: Everything can happen in the opposite way than you expected them to…

Bakura simply deflected all the Jinxes without moving from where he was standing and making a single sound. Goyle on the contrary was trying so hard to stand up since he was stuck in a Leg-Lock Jinx and was agitated from the dots of chicken pox that had formed all over his face. He couldn't used his wand because Bakura did a deliberate Freezing Charm on his right arm while the other had turned into branches… At least this lesson was fun for the thief…

Yami only did tiny flicks to block every spell that came at him. None of the spells he did on Crabbe's spells were shields, but all of them were reflective. As far as Yami guessed Crabbe's legs were petrified, his buttons on his robes had outsized into what it looked like donuts hanging on his body, while his hands had gone all Jelly like. The pharaoh guess he could make that as the 'Jelly-Arms Jinx, no? Or maybe he should try reflecting it to the face next time and make it the 'Jelly-Head Jinx'…

Marik seemed to feel as though he was in heaven… a mischievous one at that. He couldn't help making faces at Malfoy while at the same time mocking at the Slytherin's appearance. If he were an art collector and stared at the Mona Lisa (in this case Draco Malfoy), he would say, '_wonderful!_' The poor boy's ears had gone all batty still flapping, his hands were fins, his arms were petrified with a red colour to it, his legs were roots, his nose was that of Pinocchio, and last but not least a large pig tail grew from his butt.

After Harry got his detention, as everyone gasped of going against Snape… everyone was in a big surprise….

At what Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy looked like… Most of the class were now trying hard not to laugh, even Harry…

"Ah, so you three think you're good. Mr. Mutou, come to the front please!" Snape ordered.

"Yes sir." Yami simply replied.

"I don't tolerate that weird fashionable hair in my class."

"It's natural sir, you could get my DNA checked." Yami smoothly said.

"Don't get cocky Mr. Mutou; just because you got the highest OWL grade, there is no reason to do what you are told." Snape curtly said.

Yami nodded mind absently.

"Let's see if you're that competent Mr. Mutou." Snape said and immediately launched a Jinx at Yami.

Yami deflected it effortlessly without making a sound. Snape grumbled that Yami knew how to do a non-verbal spell.

-((Poor dude, he must be boiling hot.))- Bakura laughed.

"Hmm, so you do know how to use non-verbal spells. Very well, now let's get things more seriously." Snape said not wanting to admit his defeat.

"Yes sir?"

"You three have Jinxed three students in class, if you get hit one of my spells you three will be in detention with Mr. Potter, but you three will be getting a month of detentions with me." Snape smiled sinisterly.

Harry and the other Gryffindors gaped at Snape. Harry's blood was now boiling, it was their first day and he (Snape) had to treat them like this. Ron and Hermione were trying to calm down Harry.

"Are you asking me for a Wizard's Duel professor?" Yami asked.

"A small one, to prove that grade you have achieved was not a lie. Rules are simple; the main aim is to make sure the opponent can't use his wand. You lose and it's three of you in detention with Mr. Potter."

Yami then carefully asked, "And if I win?"

Snape thought about it and said, "I'll let you choose Mr. Mutou, considering that I won't go easy on you." He said confidently.

Marik couldn't help but smile, if Snape sought to make a humiliation out of Yami, Yami of course could figure out an even more humiliating consequence.

"Alright then, if _I win_… You'll clear all our detentions, including Harry's; add 20 house points for me, Ryou, Malik and Hermione who successfully have done a deflecting or protective charm without a sound. Add another 10 house points for Hermione who answered your question in the beginning of class and lastly add another 10 house points for me defeating you in this challenge. That would be 100 house points for Gryffindor, do we have a deal?" Yami challenged.

Snape's eyebrow was raised, but then he dismissed it, "That would mean I would go out on an all full attack, do you agree to this Mr. Mutou?"

"Agreed." Yami said briefly.

-((I can't help it but… Go Pharaoh! Make sure you hurt him bad!))- Bakura cheered.

-((100 house points, I bet Professor McGonagall will be happy when she sees the sand glass filled up ahead of everyone else on the first day of school!))- Marik chuckled.

The Wizard's Duel started…

Snape instantly sent a couple of spells towards Yami. But Yami didn't seem to be affected or surprised and simply deflected any that came near. Soon, Snape was at a speed where the whole class can only see blurs of wand flicks by Snape and deflection or protective spells that came instantaneously out of Yami's wand. Everything was so fast; the students in class couldn't help but gawk at the two. Bakura and Marik only watched silently observing the Pharaoh's moves carefully.

-((The Pharaoh's taking it easy on Snape.))- Marik stated.

-((You noticed too huh? He's acting very well as though he's doing his best. He can't fool our eyes.))- Bakura said without taking his eyes off the duel.

-((But he got the ex-potion master fooled and the rest of the class, that's one thing for sure.))- Marik looked to Bakura.

-((The duel has lasted this long because the Pharaoh wanted it to.))- Bakura said.

Marik looked amused at the thief, -((How long should have it lasted?))-

-((No longer than 1 minute if he only uses normal wizarding spells. If he used elemental magic Snape won't last than 3 seconds.))- Bakura stated.

-((That short?))- Marik exclaimed.

-((Element Masters have a light elemental spell called _Haste _that speeds up your movements. I've watched Steven using it before; you could say it packed quite a punch.))- Bakura explained.

-((I guess that takes the 3 seconds part.))- Marik agreed.

Bakura shook his head -((Not really, actually by using _Haste_ it takes them a 1/10 of a second to put their enemy down.))-

-((Scary.))- Marik sweat dropped.

-((I know.))-

'_CCCCRRRRRRRRRAAAAAACCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!' _

-((The duel has ended.))- Marik concluded.

Snape was now sitting on the ground with his whole arm frozen from the tips of his fingers to his shoulder blade, this situation of course clearly showed who the victor was.

Snape wanted to swear but bit his tongue in time.

"Yes professor?" Yami asked quietly.

The teacher opened his mouth but no words came out.

"Can you speak _louder_ professor?" Yami asked again.

"100-points-for-Gryffindor-detentions-cleared-and-class-dissmissed." Snape said as fast as he could.

Yami nodded. "Thank you professor." And made his way out the class with Bakura and Marik following whom was both smirking behind him.

The Slytherins couldn't believe on what they were seeing and hearing.

All of the Gryffindors gaped, but soon took the chance and exited out of the class before Snape would have a chance to explode.

---------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Main Hall_

_2nd of September_

_Noon: Beginning of Lunch Break (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

Professor McGonagall looked pretty baffled when she looked at the sand glasses for house points that noon…

Somehow the Gryffindor sand glass was about 100 points in front of the other houses… But then she looked towards the Gryffindor to find some of her sixth years were celebrating. Curious, she stood up from the Staff table and made her way to her Gryffindors.

On the Gryffindor Table…

"Harry, Yugi, that was great!" Ron exclaimed.

"Well Snape was being a pain, I always had to his guinea pig. But I can't thank you enough for getting me out of my detention Yugi." Harry said.

"It's nothing." Yugi shrugged.

"Nothing! Don't be ridiculous! Snape never gives us house points! Even if Hermione always gets her answers correct." Ron pointed out.

"Hey!" Hermione said annoyed.

Ron tried to calm her down again, "I'm just making a point!"

"You could at least make it sound a bit un-stressful." Malik commented.

"But seriously, how do you learn all of that? And Ryou and Malik are you both good? " Ron asked.

Ryou was quiet for a while but then said, "Considering our grades that's the way we are really."

"But that non-verbal magic must've too a lot of practice!" Hermione said.

"It did." Ryou said truthfully.

"Can you teach me Malik?" Hermione looked at the Egyptian hungry for knowledge.

Harry tried to hold his laughter…

Malik didn't know what to say since there was a howling laughter from his yami's soul room that he was trying to ignore.

"Well…"

Yugi chuckled looking at a confused Malik; he knew all too well what happened just over a year ago. The hikari had started to learn non-verbal spells in his fifth year than sixth since it was the headmaster who advised him to learn them and which proved to be very difficult. Not that it was intentionally made to make Yugi and co. work harder, but it was important to protect them selves seeing that that all of them were Millennium Items holders. He and Yami had spent a lot of time practicing non-verbal spells and perfecting them by using the time turner. If a normal person had roughly 5 hours at most for practice in a day, Yami and Yugi and all their friends had at least 10 hours or at most 18 hours of practice. So to top it off they did have _more time _then everyone else…

Then there was a small chuckle in his head… -(Something you want to say Yami?)- Yugi said to his other half.

-((Maybe I should've ended the duel more quickly))- Yami chuckled.

Yugi raised an eyebrow, -(If I duelled Snape, I'd rather do that. But he did want to make a mickey out of us, that… I'll tolerate.)-

Yami laughed, -((No one knows me better then you abiou.))-

-(Exactly)- Yugi smirked.

Yami looked on how his hikari was developing similar dark traits as him. Honestly, Yami addmited that actually Yugi can be just as scary as he if it came to wizard duels. Wand work was definitely Yugi's field in Magic, so if it mean Charms, DADA, and Transfiguration were a breeze and an extreme advantage in duels. In order to do well in a wizard's duel of coarse also relied on knowledge of different types of magic. Yugi of course had more knowledge than the other students here… since he had access to Yami's memories; he knew whatever spell the darker half did.

'Maybe I'll do something about that spell Sieg gave me tonight. At least there's a place that will be a lot safer to talk about everything concerning the OotS', Yami thought.

Before Malik could answer, Professor McGonagall came to the table where they were seated for lunch.

"Would there be any explanation to the sudden leap of house points in our house hour glass?" She asked knowingly.

Ryou hesitated to answer, "Err…"

"They managed to get 100 house points from Professor Snape's DADA class professor!" Ron exclaimed happily.

Professor McGonagall only raised an eyebrow not entirely believing what Ron had just said… but then she looked at Severus Snape who seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her…

She only smiled, "Ah, so someone DID finally make him to put house points for Gryffindor. Well done for you three! I guess Professor Snape owes me something…"

"What would that be Professor?" Hermione asked.

"One hundred Galleons if he'd ever put _any _house points for Gryffindor. A bet we made long ago…" Professor McGonagall grinned. "I thank you three for making my day, I'm hoping to see you all in my NEWTs class tomorrow." She left the group and headed towards Snape.

"…………….." The group only blinked.

"That was something." Malik commented.

"Well at least it's a good way to start the year." Harry smiled.

"Harry! Hey, Harry!" a voice called.

Ryou observed the boy named Jack Sloper giving a parchment to Harry. For one thing, he was mighty sure it came from Dumbledore for after they read it; Ron was wondering what type of lesson the Headmaster will teach Harry. At first they hesitated to tell Yugi, Ryou and Malik, but then Yugi dismissed the fact even in Takazumiryu Magic School the headmaster himself taught students who had special talents. Harry yet again was surprised how Yugi and his friends were so open minded, not everyone in Hogwarts were extremely close in a short time with his friends.

"Ron!" Ginny said as she came in excited.

"Something up?" Ron looked to his sister.

"Have you heard the new Duelling Club for Duel Monsters they're making?" she asked.

They all shook their heads. The three transfers only raised their eyebrows.

"Well they said they use the new rules, it's the one where you sacrifice a weaker monster for a stronger one. And I heard there's going to be a tournament against the other magic schools in Europe!"

"That sounds awesome! You'd think we could get in?" Ron asked Harry.

"I don't know, I don't mind joining the Club really. But I'm afraid I won't be competing in the tournament though, with being the Quidditch Captain I'll be pretty busy. How about you try it out Ron, you did manage to defeat Hermione in the last duel at the Burrow right?" Harry advised.

"That's because Ron was lucky. If he hadn't draw the Waboku trap card and summoned a Summon Skull (5/2500/1200) that killed my Curse of Dragon (5/2000/1500) I could've beat him in an instant!" Hermione pouted.

"I won fair and square!" Ron pointed out.

"You both could just join in and duel to death trying to beat one another. Wouldn't that settle things a bit easier?" Malik said looking slightly annoyed they were fighting only over an _amateur_ duel.

"Where's the sign-up parchment?" the two said together looking at Ginny.

"Err... on the notice board?" she answered unsure.

"I'll sign you up Harry." Hermione said.

"I'm going to make sure who's our mentor after I sign up." Ron declared.

They both stood from the lunch table and exited the main hall.

Harry sighed and looked to Malik, "Thanks for helping out."

"Believe me, I know what it feels like being in the middle of it _all_." Malik said hinting something on separating an angry pharaoh and tomb robber in the past.

Yugi and Ryou sweat dropped since knew all too well what their yamis were like…

"Say, isn't Duel Monsters really famous in Japan?" Ginny asked.

Ryou laughed, "Not just famous, people are completely mad about it!"

"Especially when there are large tournaments! It can get hectic if you know what I mean." Malik noted.

"Why don't you three join the Duelling Club then?" Harry offered.

"Maybe not now, we're still adapting to Hogwarts. But we did sign up for Quidditch." Yugi explained.

Ryou and Malik only stared at Yugi, as far as they knew the Pharaoh never missed a chance to duel. But then they remembered about the pact they made on the train… _'No duels in public, any mentioning of God cards or rare cards in particular and definitely NO Shadow Magic.' _

"What positions are you taking?" Harry asked.

Yugi thought about it, "Chaser."

Harry then looked at Malik and Ryou, "How about you guys?"

"Beaters." They said together.

"It'll be great if you make it to the team. Well I better check Ron in the Common Room. I'll see you all at Potions." Harry said and left.

Ryou switched to Japanese, "Did Yami say he didn't want to join the Duel Club?"

"Yeah, I know about the pact we made on the train, but why did our yamis did nothing?" Malik wondered as he spoke in Japanese.

Yugi only sighed and also switch to his native tongue, "I said maybe _not now_, since Yami predicted we'll be _literally dragged_ into the club once they know who we are. "

"Wonderful." Ryou rolled his eyes.

"Life sucks." Malik said.

"Tell me about it." Yugi replied.

---------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Grounds, Near Hagrid's Hut_

_2nd of September_

_That Afternoon…_

--------------------------------------

After Malik had Arithmancy, the three now entered the class for Care of Magical Creatures.

-((Man… It's so damn quiet….))- Bakura commented.

_That would be the case since they were the only ones who took the subject…_

"Righ' uh… class… We'll start today with…" Hagrid continued.

-(I feel sorry for Hagrid.)- Yugi said gloomily.

-(Funny how Care of Magical Creatures is one of the most favourite subjects in our school, it's quite the opposite here)- Malik assumed.

-(He must be really disappointed right now.)- Ryou said.

-((And what? We're going to do the 'cheer him up' kinda thing? Yuck! Count me out!))- Marik said disgusted.

-((No, we're going to _take an advantage _over his class.))- Yami said as he saw Yugi agreeing with his idea.

The others stared at the two spiky haired teens…

-((No offence Yugi, but did Yami's dark side was being transferred into you like a few minutes ago?))- The thief asked.

The pharaoh's hikari laughed, -(No, you people think so negatively I swear. Since there are no people from other houses, I think what Yami is trying to tell us to grab many house points as we can and by doing that, we need to make Hagrid happy.)-

-(You have some way of thinking Yugi; I have to admit we can make a challenge out of every lesson for Care of Magical Creatures class.)- Malik said.

-((I'm listening hikari…))- Marik said half singing.

-(Who ever gets the most house points wins, the one with the lowest house points (per lesson) will be paying for our stuff if any of us orders something from outside the school. So if it magazines, DM cards and the rest the loser will pay.)- Malik explained.

-(Sounds more interesting than a quiet class.)- Ryou nodded.

-((I'm gonna win this time!))- Bakura exclaimed.

-(How about it Yami?)- Yugi asked.

Yami smirked. –((LET THE GAMES BEGIN!))-

-----------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, Potions Class (In the Dungeon)_

_2nd of September_

_Afternoon (Local Time)_

------------------------------------------------

So far the scores were equal of 25 house points each for Hagrid's lesson and to Hagrid's delight he saw that someone else besides Harry, Hermione and Ron enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures. That was another 75 house points for Gryffindor, but all of them were even more eager to break the record as soon they had another CoMC class. Later they met Harry, Ron and Hermione in the corridors and went to the classroom for Potions together.

----------------------

When they arrived in the corridor there were only a dozen people progressing to NEWTs level. Crabbe and Goyle had evidently failed to achieve the required O.W.L grade, but four Slytherins had made it through, including Malfoy. Four Ravenclaws were there, and one Hufflepuff, Ernie Macmillan, whom Harry liked despite his pompous manner.

_-Chapter 9,The Half Blood-Prince, Pg.173, British Hard Cover, HP & the Half-Blood Prince-_

---------------------

If they counted the new transfers there were only 15 students who took potions for NEWTs. Most of the class sat around the tables which each had a cauldron on them. And thus the question and answering had gone through out the class. Yet again, it was Hermione that answered all the questions. Even though Yami had gotten an O-star he didn't feel it was important to mention it in class. Yugi had the same idea and kept on listening to the walrus-like professor intently. The other M holders were patiently waiting to do the practical. And it wasn't soon they were challenged to make the best Draught of Living Death in exchange for a Felix Felicis…

Everyone seemed to keep on glancing around at what the rest of the class were doing. The disadvantage of Potions was keeping your work private. But since Yugi, Malik and Ryou sat at the back of the class, their work was safe from prying eyes. Much like Hermione, Malik and Ryou always followed the instructions of the book. However for the pharaoh and his hikari it was all about trying new ways to brew a potion faster, this potion in particular he and Yugi had done successfully with extra marks for their OWL exam. The grade of an E.O. in potions wasn't for nothing…….

"And time's… up!" called Slughorn. "Stop stirring please!"

Slughorn moved slowly between the tables peering into the cauldrons as he passed. He made no comment, but occasionally gave the potions a stir or a sniff. Soon he reached the table where Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ernie sat. Ron and Ernie's potion was passed as 'no good potions', Hermione only received an approving nod, but when he looked at Harry's….

"The clear winner!" He cried out to the dungeon. "Excellent, excellent, Harry! Good Lord, it's clear you've inherited your mother's talent, she was dab hand at Potions, Lily was! Here-"

"Professor, haven't you checked the back yet?" a Ravenclaw student cut in.

"Oh my, sorry. Let's check what you new ones got there." Professor Slughorn walked to their table and peered to their cauldrons.

"Hmm, very good Mr. Bakura and Mr. Ishtar you've done well as Miss Granger. Mr. Mutou! I can't believe my eyes!"

In Yugi's Potion there was no colour of pink what so ever, it was pure milky white or in other words the Draught of Living Death's final stage.

"The final stage should've taken another 20 minutes! Oho! So you're the transfer student who Professor McGonagall mentioned on getting an Exceptionally Outstanding on your OWL grade in Potions, no!" He old walrus asked excitedly.

"Yes sir." Yugi replied. There was a lot of whispering around the room about the grade they thought that could not have existed.

"Impressive! Even when I took my OWL grades I was only 3 percent left in getting an Exceptionally Outstanding!"

"Sir? How much is an Exceptionally Outstanding?" Ernie asked.

"An equivalent of a 300 percent minimum. Only a few have gotten those grades. So, Mr. Mutou how much was your overall percentage grade?" Slughorn looked at Yugi as though he was going to be part of his collection.

"Well…err…" Yugi said nervously.

"Now don't be shy m'boy, come and tell us!"

"400 Percent sir." Yugi said quietly.

The whole class gasped… Hermione's eyes were wide just shocked how on earth there was such a grade…

"Good Lord! We may have someone in our class who may become the next Potioneer! Here you go! A bottle of Felix Felicis!" Slughorn handed the tiny bottle to Yugi.

Yugi took the tiny bottle to his hand and smiled. He somehow knew it wasn't for him and felt he didn't really deserve it. Yugi walked to Harry pulled out his hand and laid the tiny bottle in the Seeker's hand.

"It's yours Harry." Yugi simply said.

"What? I can't! You won the Potion against all of us." Harry exclaimed.

"It's alright, just take it. For being in second place." Yugi smiled.

"Are you sure Mr. Mutou? Are you not happy getting a Felix Felicis?" Slughorn asked.

"It's fine. Nothing to be sad about, take it as a gift." Yugi reassured.

Slughorn chuckled, "My, we certainly have a modest student here! Well then, class dismissed!"

The class soon exited the class.

"Don't feel guilty, I'll see you later Harry." Yugi said as he patted Harry on the shoulder and exited the dungeons.

Ryou chuckled and followed the spiky haired teen.

"Seeing that Mr. Mutou or Mr. Bakura didn't say how on earth he achieved 400 percent in his Potions OWL grade, would you care to explain Mr. Ishtar?" Professor Slughorn asked.

Malik blinked normally.

"How did he do it?" Hermione asked quickly.

"Hermione, don't push it alright? You're gonna scare him." Ron commented.

Harry looked to Malik.

Malik only laughed. The expressions on their faces were so comical he just couldn't help it.

"Well… he completed this awesome potion that made his grade go up to 400 percent." Malik said calmly as he packed up his books in his bag and started to head towards the exit.

"And what would that Potion be m'boy?" Slughorn looked at the boy curiously.

Malik smirked and only said two words before he left the class…

"Felix Felicis."

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Gryffindor Common Room_

_2nd of September_

_That Evening (Local Time)_

-------------------------------------------

Harry felt thankful what Yugi had done. He didn't seem he deserved the bottle of the lucky liquid. But maybe he was really feeling guilty for Hermione who was now trying her best memorizing everything from her copy of Advanced Potion-Making and the other piles of books on her desk…

_Flashback_

Malik had exited the class, leaving one old potion master and three Gryffindors dumb folded…

"By the Gods! He did a perfect Felix Felicis at the age of 16! This is extraordinary!" the professor exclaimed.

"I'll-be-going to-the-library." Hermione blurred the words out of her mouth and left.

"I swear, Hermione needs a relaxing Potion right now…" Ron sighed.

Harry couldn't really comment that.

_Back to the Present_

Harry sighed it was one of the better ways to start the first day of school, but if Hermione could've calmed down a bit it would've been more peaceful. It was already late, so the boy decided to sleep. Ron on the other had dragged Hermione and pushed her into the door leading to the girls dormitory to make sure the girl would get some sleep.

--------------------------

_Meanwhile in one dorm…_

--------------------------

The three item holders were ready to wonder that night…

"I'm gonna steal and pester some prefects tonight!" Bakura said happily.

"Good for you." Yami said in a bored tone.

"I got a meeting up with Adrian and Justin tonight at the gates." Malik confirmed.

Bakura raised an eyebrow, "Adrian? Shouldn't he be at the Ministry?"

"Not since Scrimgeour posted him as a monitor person for Hogwarts security." Malik sighed.

"Figures, well either than that don't forget wearing those hologram disguises. I got some business to do as well." Yami said.

After the three exited out of the Fat Lady's portrait, they went their separate ways….

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The OotS Student's Dorm_

_Mid-September_

_In the Evening (Local Time)_

-------------------------------------------

Time went by pretty fast for the three new transfers, as they were busy each night. Thanks to Malik's security system that he activated in their dorm no one had noticed they actually sneaked out from their beds every night. Yami just a week ago completed a Room of Requirement on the first floor, which was a base for their operations. Only those who had Shadow Magic could access it, so there was a minimum risk of getting caught. Not only did they use it for a base but also a special study room where they could practice their _other_ types of magic freely. Academically it was a useful room when they wanted to use the Time turner (which each of them held) to do homework that was of long essays or to practice magic spells. But as the three found out, the room was also good for duelling with Duel disks.

There were plenty of whisperings around the school as things were now missing and even odd things happening prefects at night (excluding Hermione and Ron)… the person behind that all was the thief… Yami didn't seem to be bothered what the tomb robber was doing, as long he didn't interfere with him… Marik of course shared about ¾ of the fame since he would occasionally join Bakura in making fun out of the prefects…

Transfiguration and Charms started off with a breeze… There were plenty of house points from Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick… Potions was the same, especially for Yugi and Harry… And now Snape always avoided whenever Yami was in class as if he wasn't there… everyday and night passed on in Hogwarts… Soon Bakura was getting restless…

-((I'm SO BORED!))- Bakura said sarcastically.

-((Same here…))- Marik sighed.

Yami came into the room smiling to himself.

-((What's to be happy about Pharaoh?))- Bakura said slightly pissed.

-((Nothing in particular))- Yami smirked.

-((Do you have any idea how bored we are?))- Marik asked.

-((Mighty dead bored. I know, so how about a trip to the Forbidden Forest anyone?))- Yami offered.

Bakura and Marik's eye totally popped out… 

-((Somebody hit me! It's got to be SOME WEIRD DREAM!))- Bakura shouted.

Malik hit him on the back, but it seemed the tomb didn't take the effects in. –((Too soft huh?))-

-((You're pathetic! You could at least hit me harder than-))-

'WHACK!' 

_A seven-inch microbiology dictionary had just literally flown into Bakura's face…_

-((_Owwww_…. WHERE THE HELL DO YOU GET THESE THICK BOOKS PHARAOH!))- Bakura shouted.

Yami sighed, -((Either you want to go or not is your choice, but I wouldn't want any of us miss the chance to do _this_.))-

-((_This?_ There's something you have in mind?))- Marik perked up.

-((A special gift for our Slytherin friends.))- Yami announced,

-((Okay, I'm listening! Shall we go?))- Bakura grinned happily.

--------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Grounds, The Forbidden Forest_

_Mid-September_

_That Night (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------------

Deep in the forest…

-((Woah I never knew about this but… WOW! This plan is neat!))- Bakura exclaimed jumping up and down.

-((You think your plan will work Pharaoh? A bit revolting don't you think?))- Marik smiled

-((It'll take some work, but I'm sure it'll be worth it… so how about it?))- Yami asked the two.

-((I'm in!))- Marik said.

-((Save the best ones for Malfoy and the Snape guy!))- Bakura grinned.

Yami sneered. -((Let's get cracking shall we?))-

------------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Main Hall_

_Mid-September_

_The next morning… (Local Time)_

------------------------------------------------

Harry at breakfast that day with both Hermione and Ron, while Yugi and his friends were on the table with their daily gadgets. The oddest thing was… the Slytherin Table was _entirely empty_…

"Wonder what's going on?" Ron said nervously.

"I don't know." Harry admitted.

"Did you hear this morning that one of Professor Slughorn's Cauldrons was missing?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Which one?" Malik asked even though at the back of his head there was someone sniggering.

"The-"

'AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!' 

It was Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle each being chased by gigantic spiders (size of a lion)….

But they were too slow… the spiders pounced on them… then…

Smuggled them cuddling like a kid with a teddy bear… Slurping them with a lot of muck coming from their mouths… yuck… 

"GET THEM OFF!" Malfoy screamed.

Every time he aimed any spell at the spider the magic would bounce off… not that it made the eight-legged freak angry… on the contrary the spider loved him more…

Snape came _hopping_ in, still with his pyjamas on… he was completely covered over like mummy due to spider silk with a LOAD of spider glob all over him…he was also trying to get any of the other staff's help…

Most of the hall was laughing when more Slytherins came in the same way…

Even Colin Creevy didn't waste time to get photos of this moment with his camera…

"Brilliant!" Ron shouted.

Harry and Hermione looked to each other and laughed.

The hikaris were basically laughing into tears right now…_what… a… view…_

-((Love potions work in the most peculiar ways don't they?))- Yami laughed.

The tomb robber cackled, -((Plus added with an Opposite Absorb Spell! Once you hit 'em with a spell, the more intimate they fell in love with you!))-

-((All in a night's work.))- Marik added.

And so another _normal_ day started at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…

TO BE CONTINUED…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DADA class was fun… 100 house points for Gryffindor!

CoMC (Care of Magical Creatures) has become a house points fight against the yamis…

That's right! Yugi and Yami got a 400 percent grade by making a Felix Felicis!

Yup spiders that LOVE the Slytherins (laughs)… got this idea when my friend had lent me the Eight-Legged Freaks DVD… Spiders DO have emotions! Huahaha…

Yay! Another Chapter done! Woooohhhhhhoooooooo! This one was on 7800 words! That's a lot… I know this is a pretty late update but for _extra long and totally filled with_ _mischief…_So, I put everything so my readers can enjoy their time reading… well how was it? Good, bad, or got your own idea? Don't hesitate to review!

Another thing that's been delaying my chapter is schoolwork…geez… I 'm getting plenty these days… I'm actually wishing a time turner existed…

Now for Review Feedback!

**To Kai Hiei Sasuke Bankotsu Ray and Matt are so all mine:**

Yay! You reviewed again! Thank you so much for keeping track for my updates! Nice new user name you got there! And I could say… you love a lot a bishies there! Hope you keep on R&R and contribute to the fic soon!

**To Javiur:**

Thank you! There's a lot of effort and research I put into this fic! I don't care how short any review, they're all valuable to make this story better! Thanks for reviewing and hope you keep R&R!

**To Destiny's Dragon:**

Here we go! Another chapter done! It's supposed to be chapter nine… yeah I know… plenty of mistakes again… well… I admit I did chapter 8 in a hurry. So what do you think? Any ideas for the next chapter? Thanks for reviewing and hope you review again!

**To Crazy Hyper Lady:**

Thank you for giving the ideas about spiders! Awesome treat for Snape and his Slytherin students in this chapter eh? I seriously have this odd knack of getting weird ideas from everywhere… Hehehe… I'll be thinking about the next chapter soon… Any ideas appreciated! Thanks for the wonderful review and Hope you R&R again!

**To SilverWingPhoenix:**

This chapter was updated pretty late well I can't do everything quickly… yeah, it's my bad habit… I rush things and everything sucks… Thank you for reviewing! If you got any ideas or comments on the fic please don't hesitate to tell me! Hope you keep R&R!

**To Mage Mickey:**

I swear I forgot to edit that stupid digit at the last minute… I managed to fix it up and some errors through out the fic… but how was this chapter? Better? Don't you worry about updating; my chapters are aimed at a 2 weeks minimum requirement but 3 if the chapter is extra long. Thanks for the review! Hope you R&R again!

**To HellFireChan:**

Woah! (Looks surprised) Your friend can do the head over thing? Creepy… A Hat eating itself is cool but spiders that completely adore Slytherins like teddy bears is better! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and keep on R&R!

**To Tira's Host:**

They're a new duelling club but games got to have rules… It'll be too scary if there isn't any… Care of Magical Creatures has become a house point jackpot for our yamis! And their fighting over who ever gets the highest house points… despite their from the same house…uh oh… The pest Malfoy has relationship problems with a gigantic spider… I wonder how will it end… Thanks for the review and I hope you keep R&R!

**To Anime Princess:**

Yup, definitely different. This is my own colour added to the other YGOxHP fanfics! More jealousy from Hermione in this chapter… ouch… academic fighting can sometimes be more lethal then a wizards duel…huahaha… Spiders in love are just cute to look at… Yami's darker side is getting more insane… and somehow insanely strategic… Thanks for reviewing! Hope you R&R!

**To ElementPriestess:**

Bet you had fun reading this chapter! Full of spells, mishaps and even spiders all over the place… Pity Snape got into a cobweb and turned into a mummy, no? hahaha… Thanks for reviewing and Hope you R&R again!

**To Tsurishi Karandengu:**

Well there you go! One REALLY LONG chapter of mischief, havoc, mayhem and disaster and chaos into one packet! I did about 31 pages with 7800 words (Author notes not included!) My specialty of long chapters… Hope you enjoyed it and R&R!

**To Shyraz:**

Thanks for being the 50th Reviewer! (Big hug) I'm glad you loved it! I just wanted another approach on the sorting seeing too many people repeat the same boring process… I don't think the hat might be useful anymore… considering there's a smarter one…hahaha… I went back and fixed some of the spellings and all (hope it helps)… Thanks for reminding me! How was this chapter? Got any ideas? Hope you R&R!

**To Ashfire28:**

I thought that the Sorting hat doesn't chose you into a house just because the hat felt it… So I figure it looked into your memories and everything. Since this was a YGO crossover I thought maybe it went into your soul room without realizing it… hahaha hats can eat themselves but spiders falling in love… I have pretty freaky ideas (sweat drops) another crazy side of me you could say… Thanks for the review and hope you keep R&R!

To Animegurl64: 

Making this fic original as I can, is my main aim in making this a great crossover. And believe me it's not easy to conjure up ideas in your mind since there's a risk that someone already had that idea before you. But so far everything is paying off. Thank you so much for your review! Hope you can contribute any ideas or suggestions for this fic! Hope you R&R again!

To Yamiace1321: 

Nothing to do with being ignorant really… I mean hey… we're all learning on ffnet…

A C2 is similar to a web ring… fics that are all in one category can be easily spotted… for example 'The Hogwarts library' is specially a place for HP x YGO fics only… or if you like yaoi you'll find a C2 with those types of fics and etc…

OC is a short saying for Original Character made by the author… if an Original Character becomes too perfect you could say they turn into Mary Sues (for girls) or Gary Stu's (for guys)… those characters are the ones you should try to avoid in writing a fic… well … if you can stand flamers I guess it's up to you…

Yami totally wrecks havoc himself in this chapter! Huahaha… somehow the Slytherins are the victims… man I'm cruel…

Thanks for the review! Hope you keep R&R!

**To Computerfreak101:**

Another huge…THANK YOU for you! Have you read the review I did for your story? I hope it'll be helpful for you next chapter! I just gave a few pointers that always helped me to write this fic as original as I can… I'll be waiting for your next chapter!

Well… I got this chapter done kind of late… man… I did a lot of figuring out how this chapter was going to be like… I guess the hardest thing was to start… but afterwards everything just seems to flow… And Spiders! Geez… I swear after I watched Eight-Legged Freaks from my friend's DVD… This wild idea of 'Why can't the spiders in the Forbidden Forest have feelings too?' with a bit of love potion that is…. huahaha….

The yamis seem to have a great bond with each other now… I guess that's what I always wanted them to be like… Even for Yami and Yugi…

I can't thank you enough for making really exquisite and yet at the same time motivating reviews! If you ever update on your story, I'll be reviewing!

Hope you keep on R&R!

Next on HP, HBP, and the OotS… 

Seto Kaiba and other members of the OotS are making another appearance in the next chapter folks!

The OotS members sneak into Dumbledore's meeting with Harry and follow them into the pensive…

YES! That's right! The Quidditch Tryouts are on!

The next chapter:

_**Chapter 10: 'The Shadows and the Phoenix.'**_


	10. Chapter 10: The Shadows and the Phoenix

Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows 

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be representatives of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any thing of YGO and HP in this fic (or food/drink merchandise or anything that are commonly known)...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J.K.Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

**I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:**

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book or any HP book _-text-_

Upcoming paragraph (s) to do with emails, articles or flashbacks _Text_

Status of Duel Monster: (No. Of Stars or Level /ATK/DEF)

Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

**AU Notes: **

Hello everyone! Happy New Year to all! Yeah… this chapter is late (again…) and another sorry from this author! But as I said in return I'll make a chapter longer if I updated it late. Thus this chapter is about 11,200 words long (without any AU notes)! My new record! I guess this time we get deeper into the plot… but … I'll still add in a few things… (Hopefully something better then drooling spiders…hehehe) To tell you the truth, this is the hardest chapter I ever felt in writing this fic…

As you may know Fanfiction net has forbidden review replies on fics so I'll reply by the clicking the 'reply' button on the reviews section.

But I guess you want to know what's going to happen next… so… this is it…

Enjoy!

_**Chapter 10: 'The Shadows and the Phoenix.'**_

--------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom _

_Mid-September_

_That morning… (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------------

There had been an awfully unpleasant smell that morning… well… considering _half_ of the class and the teacher himself a little while ago were totally covered with a load of spider glob… err …. _Drool_? Snape looked as though he could _snap_ at any moment...

-((Maybe we should call him snappy for the time being))- Bakura said innocently.

-((_Snappy Snape_ _the Defence Against the Drooling Arachnids_ teacher!))- Marik sniggered.

Yami only smiled and still looked to the Death Eater, still surveying what he was going to do next.

"Alright class, today we shall learn about a new topic. Today we will be learning about dangerous types wizards. However these types of wizards have disappeared from the face of the earth. Yes Miss Granger?" He looked at the know-it-all girl annoyed.

"Are we discussing about the D4 professor?" Hermione asked.

"The D4?" a Ravenclaw said puzzled.

"5 points off from Ravenclaw, raise your hand first to ask a question next time. The D4, or four divisions of dangerous wizards, all divisions had ceased to exist when Hogwarts had started. Any one knows what the divisions are?" Snape looked around the class and looked at one of the transfers. "Mr. Ishtar, name the four types of wizards of the D4 if your grade was as equivalent as Mr. Mutou's."

"An Element Master, a Soul Summoner, a Alter-Matter and the Unknown Caster", Marik stated easily.

Snape ignored the Gryffindor student into putting house points. "At least you didn't do an almost copy of the book like miss Granger." He replied. "That would be correct, Element Master, Soul Summoner, Alter-Matter and Unknown Caster. Now can anyone tell me the first type?"

One typical student knew the answer… but didn't put her hand up…

The poor already hotheaded teacher didn't have a choice, "Miss Granger, explain the first type to the class."

Hermione hesitated.

"Miss Granger, go on." He sternly said knowing that this information was a fear of the past in the Wizarding world.

"An Element Master has abilities to control the eight main elements of magic, which are Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Thunder, Light, Darkness and Void. In some sources they also tell us that they can turn into the element themselves and never use wands at all."

"I guess I'll leave it you know the rest Miss Granger." Snape said in a bored tone. "Explain the rest, so your classmates know."

Hermione at first her mouth stopped, but then took a deep breath and said…

"A Soul Summoner can call the spirits of the dead and order them to do their bidding, unlike the Inferi who are called by the dark lord and bodies can be destroyed, spirits have an ability to recharge themselves therefore they can be summoned as many times as the Soul Summoner wishes them to."

She then took another breath and said, "An Alter-Matter is a wizard that can alter every matter, even your insides into dust. All these types of wizards in common are dangerous for their powers for they massacred more then 100 wizards, witches and muggles long ago just before Hogwarts had started." Her voice shook slightly.

"And what of the _last type_?" Snape pressed.

She winced, "The Unknown Casters, their powers are unknown but it is believed they can control _complete darkness_. That information in currently restricted by the Ministry of Magic."

Harry and Ron only looked at their friend worriedly. Most of the students in class were quiet hearing there were even dangerous types of wizards then Death Eaters. Yami, Bakura and Marik knew all to well what they meant by _unknown, _or more specifically… _Shadow Casters_. That's what they were… And to make things more precise, the D4 was what actually what the OotS were made out of…

"Correct." Snape said sinisterly to the frightened students. "They are powerful breeds of wizards, yet they were destroyed by the Ministry of Magic's founders. Now, can anyone explain more about the Unknown Casters? Mr. Bakura, show us you got that E.O. grade of yours by explaining the Unknown Casters."

"Unknown Casters are wizards who completely know the darkness, it is believed they can talk with darkness and their Dark Arts abilities are far more higher than the Dark Arts we have now." Bakura said tonelessly, like he gave damn about it. Considering he used _that magic_ everyday… what was so scary about it?

"Yes, now name three Dark Arts of the past of the Unknown Casters that have been used by the Dark lord and his followers." Snape stated.

"The three Unforgivable Curses. The spells are Imperio, Crucio and Avada Kedavra." Bakura said simply.

The whole class gasped and but three transfer students didn't. "Correct again, all of you will do an essay about the D4 for homework. Class dismissed." Snape declared.

The three transfers only looked to each other and nodded. Quietly they left the classroom…

----------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Gryffindor Common Room _

_Mid-September_

_That noon… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------------

"I can't believe that snake did that!" Ron exclaimed.

"He shouldn't have forced the information out of you like that. Snape is going to get it one of these days." Harry snorted.

Hermione only looked down, "I'm glad those wizards are not alive. I wouldn't want to think about it if they ever joined forces with the dark lord."

Ryou who was sitting reading a spell book only looked at the three. "Did they really killed 100 wizards, witches and muggles?" he asked.

"It says in the book for Sixth grade right?" Ron looked to Hermione.

"Yes it does." Hermione nodded.

"What, you're not suspicious that maybe the Ministry could've changed on what had really happened?" Ryou asked carefully.

"You mean a cover story?" Harry said in bewilderment.

Ryou nodded, "Yeah, it's funny the only source of the massacre comes from only one writer. There's no one else who had written it."

Hermione looked at Ryou and quickly open her book _Confronting Against the Faceless_ and checked its bibliography at the back. "He's right! So something might've happened."

"So what do you think might have happened?" Harry asked the white-haired teen.

"I think-"

'_BEEP! BEEP!'_

Ryou flick out his cell phone and read an SMS, "Sorry, got to go now, Yugi's calling me to meet him on the first floor. I'll tell you guys sometime, see ya!" Ryou left without a thought and made his way to the grand staircase.

"They know a lot don't they?" Ron pointed out.

Harry agreed, "Yeah. Their E.O.s in DADA prove it. So is there potions after lunch?"

"Not since it's the opening of the Duel Monsters Club! There's no lessons after break!" Hermione said excitedly.

"It's today! Neat! We better get our decks ready then!" Ron said.

Harry seemed confused at the sudden change of mood, but gave no notice about the D4 in the end. Most of the empty slots on Harry's timetable that afternoon were used to check their decks in order to make them stronger…

----------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The OotS Room of Requirement (1st Floor) _

_Mid-September_

_That afternoon… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------------

-((Well there you go, a lesson's worth of a _lovely description_ on what actually the OotS is))- Bakura stated.

-(It's odd how _all_ the wizards believe in just one source.)- Ryou added in.

-((Pity they don't know we're very much _alive_.))- Marik said.

-(If they did, there would be NO OotS would there?)- Malik looked to his yami annoyed.

Yugi looked rather hurt, -(It's always the Ministry, isn't it?)-

Yami gazed to his partner, -((They have a knack making conspiracies. It's our job to make them realize that won't always work.))-

What had happened in the past indeed was cover story. Long ago just decades before Hogwarts was built there was mayhem in the Wizarding world on who should be in control. Thus many thought who had the power were considered worthy to lead. Yet those who had power and never yearned to lead were turned into victims. And the very victims were the Element Masters, the Soul Summoners and the Alter-Matters (They would be the Illusionists). As for the Unknown Casters or Shadow Casters' abilities were made to make normal witches and wizards afraid.

-((So, get to the point Pharaoh. You called us for what reason?))- Bakura changed the subject.

Yami was quiet at first but then said, -((There's _a meeting_ after the last period we have to attend.))-

-((What! You mean here, in Hogwarts?))- Marik raised an eyebrow.

Ryou took this seriously, -(Why on earth are we having an OotS meeting?)-

-(Something's up, isn't it right Pharaoh?)- Malik sated.

Yami only nodded and looked to Yugi so his lighter half would do the explaining.

-(We've got more information coming in why our Items were signalling distress signals and the reappearance of the three Legendary Dragons/Knights Tiamus, Critias and Helmos. For one thing, the Dark lord has _all_ the connections.)- Yugi explained.

-(I guess that's why my tarot cards have gone nuts.)- Ryou sighed.

-(I would take it that the Death card has made its appearance in your readings?)- Malik asked.

Ryou only went silent.

-((Well? Come on, tell us.))- Marik inquired.

-((Fine. If my hikari doesn't want to say it, then I will.))- Bakura rolled his eyes.

-((How many times thief?))- Marik looked to Bakura.

-((…All the time…every reading… ever since we arrived at Hogwarts.))- Bakura stated.

Yugi slightly winced. –(It would appear this year there are plenty of drastic changes.)-

-((Nonetheless, I would prefer if we all avoid getting caught, as any D4 wizards or else don't be shocked of having Death Eaters on our front door as salesmen trying to recruit us.))- Yami said.

-(Well, we do have another problem. What of the Duelling Club?)- Ryou asked.

-(Good point, that's one _major_ problem.)- Malik emphasized.

Yugi looked to everyone else. –(Um guys, today's the opening of the club.)-

-((Our names haven't reached to the UK as far as I know.))- Bakura said.

-((I would rather not take part in it anyway. They're still beginners in the sacrificing rules aren't they?))- Marik commented.

This time everyone looked to Yami.

Yami only shrugged it off, -((No, I won't be joining the club. You know we use Super Expert rules and there's a new regulation in Duel Monsters that elite Duellists aren't allowed to use the usual sacrifice rules. Even so, it doesn't mean we can't observe from afar…))-

Yugi chuckled. While the other yamis laughed. The two remaining hikaris only blinked.

-((Pharaoh, tsk, tsk. You have a yet another dark plan in your mind?))- Bakura looked to the 5000 year old king.

-((Oh, I just heard that Malfoy also joined in.))- Yami hinted.

Marik looked as though another dream came true on the same day they executed the spider plan on the Slytherins. –(Sounds interesting. I guess we could have some fun before this meeting of ours.))-

-((Do we use our decks?))- Bakura asked.

Yami looked at him as though he were an idiot. –((No, that'll blow our cover. Just take a deck they have there spontaneously. More of a challenge for us you could say. And well, more humiliation for the Slytherin boy…))-

Marik grinned, -(This is definitely our day!)-

-(We might as well join in right Yugi?)- Ryou asked.

Yugi nodded at the white teen. –(I want to refresh myself before we get an official mission tonight.)-

They both joined in with their yamis reminding what cards they knew about.

-(Is it me? Or am I the only one that's not insane?)- Malik said to no one in particular.

He then shrugged and joined in their discussion about DM cards.

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Main Hall_

_Mid-September_

_After Lunch (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------------

The whole hall had been changed, as the four house tables had Duel mats on them and most surely the ones who hosted this event were…

_The Weasly Twins._

Yugi and co had just arrived after the opening speech and simulation on the usual sacrificing rules done by George and Fred. Like other people who weren't in the club, they were observing how everyone else was duelling with the new rules. As planned, the three scattered through out the hall observing how other people were taking in the terms of sacrificing.

Ryou unluckily, lost in Scissors, Paper, and Rock game and had the job of going to Harry and co to see how they were doing. Bakura on the contrary was happy… not to see Harry really, but the thief knew very well Harry Potter was a magnet to Draco Malfoy who loved to boast himself. And Bakura's prediction was indeed correct for he noticed that Malfoy was duelling Neville and it seemed Neville was still confused with the new rules. In the end of their duel he lost and who makes his appearance? None other then Harry Potter… with his two friends…

"What's a matter Longbottom? Too sick to know the new rules?" Malfoy mocked.

"Your pathetic Malfoy. You only duelled Neville because he's still adapting to the new rules." Harry eyed his archrival.

"Mind your business Potter, if you know what's good for you." Malfoy sneered.

"You should be duelling someone else who knows the rules well." Harry stated.

Ryou just in time made his appearance.

"How about the white haired girl behind you, I bet she'd be a good duellist with Neville's all mud stinking brown type cards."

The other Slytherins behind him laughed.

-((My turn! … Um hikari?))- Bakura looked confused at his light's sudden change.

One thing the thief noticed is that Ryou's face looked rather sterner then usual… 

Ryou only motioned his right hand so Neville could give his deck. Neville gave it to him nervously.

Malfoy seemed pleased. "Well, isn't the Seer boy cocky."

"_Let's Duel."_ Ryou said coldly.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Ryou's LP 4000

Malfoy's LP 4000

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Ryou wasn't just angry on why Malfoy called him a girl but also he discriminated _Effect Cards_, which were his favourite type of cards. He noticed in Neville's deck when he checked it there were more than enough effect cards to make the Slytherin boy beaten up. Only Neville wasn't sure on how to make the cards work effectively and in many cases the Herbology boy didn't rely on his magic cards when he had many good ones in his deck. Even though it was his yami that duelled often, it didn't mean Ryou wasn't a duellist himself.

Both of them draw 5 cards from their decks. Ryou looked to his five cards, Tyrant Dragon (7/2400/2000), Harpie's Feather Duster (Magic card), Green Phantom King (3/500/1600), Waboku (Trap Card), and a Revival Jam (4/1500/500, Effect Card). What a draw… Certainly Malfoy won't last long…

"I'll start Seer boy!" Malfoy commanded.

"As you wish." Ryou replied.

Hermione was the first to notice how confident Ryou was in a duel compared to when he was asked in class. Maybe because that in Japan duelling was an everyday event as far as Hermione read from Fred and George's DM magazine that was released in the wizarding world. But then again maybe Japanese people were all duellists after all. All she hoped was that Ryou would win over Malfoy.

"Draw. I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman (4/1700/1000) in Attack mode and place a reverse card. End my turn." Malfoy said as he sneered.

"End already?" Ryou lightly said.

"Even if you did draw a stronger card, you won't be able to destroy my Neo the Magic Swordsman." The boy countered.

Ryou easily shrugged the comment off. "Draw." He looked to hand and draws a Trap Hole (Trap Card) from Neville's Deck. Sure, Neville did have a basic deck. Only if he knew himself how to use it well…

"Main Phase. I summon a Revival Jam (4/1500/500) in Defence Mode, place two Reverse Cards down and End my turn." Ryou stated.

Harry watched on how fluid Ryou's motions from the beginning of the duel. The way he shuffled, draw and even placed his cards on the duel mat was done with care and amazingly with pride. He was starting to realize what it meant as a duellist's pride when he heard it from Fred that in Japan many people respect duellists. And even the most renowned duellists and even the world champion came from Japan too.

"All you can do is defend Seer boy. Your pathetic." Malfoy spat.

Ryou only smiled confidently. "You have three turns _to live_."

"What!"

"You heard me Malfoy. Three turns at most and… you die." Ryou said calmly.

Malfoy only laughed. "Heh, it's you who's going to die first!"

Yugi and Malik had just joined in with Harry and co from behind to see how Bakura was doing… only to find out that Ryou was the one who was duelling… Yugi, Yami, Malik and Marik were wondering where on earth did the thief go.

-((Searching for me peeps?))- Bakura cackled.

-(What exactly happen?)- Yugi asked.

Marik looked annoyed, -((Um, aren't YOU supposed to be _there_?))- He pointed as Ryou's body.

-(Something must've happen… Care to tell us?)- Malik asked.

Yami looked to Bakura. –((I take it Malfoy went on Ryou's bad side.))-

-((Bingo! You read my mind Pharaoh. Mind you, my hikari can be scary when he's on the latter mood.))- Bakura gave them an evil wink.

-(Like the yami.)- Marik mumbled.

-((What did you say _dark_ tomb keeper?))- Bakura growled.

-(Nothing…)- Marik acted innocently.

Yugi, Yami and Malik only chuckled.

-((So, how many turns will Malfoy last?))- Yami asked.

Bakura smiled. –((Three at most, two most likely after the first turn.))-

**Back to the Duel…**

Malfoy draws a card and immediately said, "I summon Dragon Zombie (3/1600/0) in Attack mode!"

Ryou flipped a reverse card. "Activate trap card 'Trap Hole', since you summoned a monster with ATK points over 1000, your monster is destroyed."

The dragon fell into the hole… Malfoy growled at Ryou who was still smiling pleasantly at him…

"You'll pay for that! Battle Phase. Neo the Magic Swordsman (4/1700/1000) attack Revival Jam (4/1500/500)!"

This time, Ryou didn't even bother to use a trap card. The monster burst into pieces, but then formed back into its whole self.

Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes, "What the-"

"The brown cards you said as mud stinking are effect cards. You shouldn't underestimate them in the first place. Revival Jam's special ability makes him indestructible unless he is used for a sacrifice, or gets hit with specific trap or magic cards." Ryou explained.

Malfoy gritted his teeth. "I place two reverse cards down and End my turn."

Ryou observed Malfoy's three reverse cards at the moment. As far as he observed Malfoy's duel against Neville he used trap cards and magic cards that negated enemy attacks but in some cases Malfoy had magic cards that decreased Life points directly.

"Draw." The white haired teen said, drew another card from the deck, and looked at it. He had got the trap card 'Castle Walls', definitely an asset. Looks like two more turns and Malfoy will lose. That would be three turns in total.

"I summon Green Phantom King (3/500/1600) in Defence mode. Plus I add two more reverse cards and I End my turn. This is your _last turn_, kill me or you'll lose." He only smiled to Malfoy so he could get the blond anger out.

Malfoy was pretty much on fire, so after he drew a card from his deck he went straight to Battle Phase. Of course Yami and Marik only sniggered since that would be the ultimate mistake for any duellist. _Get carried with your emotions when you duel._ A huge no, no, in any duellist guidebook you could say.

"Neo the Magic Swordsman (4/1700/1000) attack Green Phantom King (3/500/1600)!" Malfoy ordered.

"Activate trap card 'Castle Walls'! That increases my monster's Def by 500."

Neo the Magic Swordsman (4/**1700**/1000) VS Green Phantom King (3/500/**2100**)

Thus…

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Ryou's LP 4000

Malfoy's LP 3700

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Malfoy grumbled. "2nd Main Phase. Activate 'Hinotama' to decrease the player's life points by 500!"

"Activate trap card 'Waboku'. No damage done." Ryou said casually.

With nothing else to do, Malfoy placed another reverse card and ended his turn.

Ryou without a simply drew another card and it turns out to be… 'Beckon to Darkness' (Magic Card). Looks like his readings on his tarot cards didn't fail him about winning this duel by himself and without his yami.

"Activate magic card 'Harpie's Feather Duster'!"

All of Malfoy's reverse cards flew to his graveyard…

"You-"

Ryou cut him off. "I'm not finished yet. Next I activate 'Beckon to Darkness'! Say goodbye to your Neo the Magic Swordsman."

A Dark portal formed and a large demon hand grabbed the poor magician into the graveyard…

"I sacrifice Green Phantom King (3/500/2100) and Revival Jam (4/1500/500) to summon Tyrant Dragon (7/2400/2000)! You lose Malfoy." Ryou claimed as a large dragon on Ryou's card field appeared with breathing fire.

"No, my life points won't be at zero yet." Malfoy said defiantly.

"Again Malfoy, F…Y…I… (For Your Information) Tyrant Dragon (7/2400/2000) is the mud stinking card you called it earlier is an effect card. It has a special effect of attacking _twice_."

Malfoy winced.

"Tyrant Dragon (7/2400/2000), Direct attack twice on the player!" Ryou commanded.

Two large balls of flame rammed into Malfoy sending him on his back to the ground…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Ryou's LP 4000

Malfoy's LP 0000

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"I win." Ryou said.

Malfoy and his Slytherins retreated.

And suddenly there was a burst of cheers… _from a crowd…_

"I'd say that was quite a splendid duel!" Professor McGonagall said as she clapped.

Ryou's face went red when he realized half of the people in the hall were looking at his duel…

-((Way to go hikari! I would've done it myself but I'm proud you can be _dark as me_ when it comes to duels!))- Bakura gleefully smiled at his hikari. His darker half then high-fived the darker tomb keeper.

Yami, Yugi and Malik were applauding for Ryou's performance. All of that made Ryou face turned red as an apple.

"That was superb!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Thanks. Oh yeah Neville, this deck's really good. Just get the hang of the new rules and you'll do fine." Ryou advised his friend as he gave back the deck to the original owner.

"Say, you're not a member of the DM Duelling Club at Hogwarts are you?" A seventh year Ravenclaw boy said.

"No." Ryou said sheepishly. There were a few gasps in the crowd.

"You've got talent there! I'm Nate Wellington, the Head of this Duelling Club. Come and join us!" The Ravenclaw offered.

"I'll think about it." Ryou said. "Well… I got to get going… I got some stuff to do…"

Ryou quickly made his way to his friends who were waiting by Main Hall door and exited together.

---------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, Harry's Dorm _

_Mid-September_

_03: 09 PM (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------

"Wow, did you see how Ryou duelled? He was like a pro!" Ron exclaimed.

"That was a really painful combo to get hit by. Malfoy deserved it." Harry added.

Ginny laughed. "Serves him right. I wonder if Ryou is going to join the club, I mean he only used three turns to beat Malfoy!"

"I don't know, Yugi said they were still adapting to Hogwarts. But I'm sure he'll join soon, he does have the talent after all." Hermione said.

"Maybe after the Quidditch Tryouts. They did say they had list themselves for the team." Harry pointed out.

Ron couldn't believe he heard that, "No kidding, Ryou's really gifted! He's good at Divination, duelling, and his grades are high. Now Quidditch!"

"They're _all_ very talented. You think Professor Dumbledore would want them to join the OotP?" Ginny asked.

"Well, their talents do qualify to go against Death Eaters." Harry admitted.

Then Hermione asked the question, "But what if their talents do qualify _to be_ Death Eaters?"

"I say we recruit them into the OotP first if I were you." Ron suggested.

Ginny nodded. "That seems to be the most logical idea when the wizarding world is in chaos."

"I'm not sure about that, but if someone knows them the most, it would be Professor Dumbledore. Maybe you should ask Professor Dumbledore first about their background and everything. If everything it's safe, there's a chance they'll join the OotP." Hermione suggested.

"I'll ask Professor Dumbledore tonight. They may be weird looking, but those three transfers kind of remind me of three particular people." Harry chuckled.

Ron raised an eyebrow, "Who would that be?"

Hermione laughed. "Can't remember? Us! You remember the first few weeks in Hogwarts we were misfits in school?"

"I guess so." Ron nodded.

Ginny looked to Hermione, "I wonder where they are now…"

Ron shrugged, "Beats me."

---------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Isolated Boat House behind Hogwarts Castle_

_Mid-September_

_03: 11 PM (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

"So… Where's our last member?" Ethan asked.

"Patience thief friend, if the Pharaoh says he'll be here, he will. You've stolen anything good so far?" Bakura asked.

"More Ministry files if that's what you mean, yeah a hell lot of them!" Ethan grinned.

"I'd take it you got more information?" Yami questioned.

"Plenty." Ethan nodded.

"Lenny helped too sir!" the house elf jumped up and down.

"Something from the gates?" Malik looked to Adrian and Justin.

"Couple of things happening." Justin said.

"A couple that's killing us guards for weeks…" Adrian said bitterly.

"I've got plenty of news from the main meeting of the OotS a week ago." Steven raised his hand.

"Anything new about Orichalcos seal?" Yami asked.

"News is quite horrifying." Steven nodded.

Nash looked to yami.

Yami looked back at the technician, "Some news from Kaiba I presume?"

He shook his head, "Not yet, though he's in a rather busy stage in his company if you know what I mean."

So there they were, waiting for their last member that was the leader in the meeting. All its members consisted of The King of Thieves from Ancient Egypt, a modern thief as the so-called Legendary Nox, a technician, a house elf, a Auror, a Element Master that relied on his lucky number 50, also with a 5000 year old Pharaoh plus his hikari and a tomb keeper with an insane yami. This of course was nothing compared to Harry Potter's band… you could say they were the most definite unique band of misfits… could I say more?

Then came in their last member…

"Professor Sinistra?" Bakura blurted out.

The others looked rather worried except Steven and Yami who only smiled at the Astronomy teacher.

"Hey people, chill down! You guys never heard his _full name_ yet." Steven chuckled as he tried to calm down everyone.

"I guess I haven't told any of you." Sinistra laughed.

Yami introduced them to their last member, "Everyone meet _Sieg_ Innes Sinistra."

Professor Sinistra immediately changed his form to Sieg, the Head of the Element Masters.

"Whoa! Sieg, don't freak us out next time!" Justin exclaimed.

"My apologies." Sieg said to all of them.

Adrian looked to the Element Master, "Are you really Sinistra or you have the original locked up somewhere? I'm just curious."

"I've worked for Hogwarts since five years ago." Sieg admitted.

"You were eighteen then!" Adrian said disbelievingly.

"All wizard types that count as the D4 learn magic at an acceleration rate beyond normal wizards, that's why the Ministry founders were afraid of us and killed us off with the purges. And it's also the reason why there are only a few of us left who live isolated from the normal wizarding world. Only a few like me and Steven who come in contact near the Ministry, yet we live a life of total secrecy or a double life." Sieg explained. "As the Professor Sinistra, I'd be 79 years old and it's not easy acting as an old wizard I tell you."

"If they knew what we are, they most likely silence us by killing the remaining few." Steven added.

Nash added in, "Or make us Alter-matter wizards as Transfiguration test subjects since we can change literary everything."

"Okay… um can we get to the more important news?" Bakura said trying to change the subject.

"I think it would be proper considering the three of us can't just disappear into thin air in Hogwarts. And I don't want a search party going after us." Marik stated.

"Likewise. You said the Dark Lord has all the connections." Yami said.

"Alright, I'll get to the main point. It's all about Horcruxes." Sieg said.

The thief looked at Sieg in disbelief. "No way!"

"You mean the dark lord actually had done a Horcrux?" Malik said nervously.

Sieg hesitated to tell the last bit of information, but then said, "Not Horcrux, but _Horcruxes_…Seven in total."

"I already had a bad feeling he had known something of the Millennium Items." Yami concluded.

"Sir, Lenny wishes to know, what is a Horcrux?" the house elf asked.

"I think Adrian and I would want an explanation about it. I don't think any of the other Aurors heard about this." Justin said.

"Seeing you work for the Ministry or had gone to Hogwarts, it's a very touchy subject. And you could say Dumbledore prefers the students know what types of Unforgivable Curses there are then what Horcrux is." Steven said.

Yami nodded. "True, but I'll explain to make the meeting more clear. It's the same Dark magic that Bakura and I used to seal our souls into the Puzzle and the Ring. In order to seal ourselves into an item we had to kill somebody. You could say the idea of Horcruxes came from the belief in Ancient Egypt of immortality, that the soul keeps on living even though the body is dead."

The three non-D4 wizards gasped.

Yami then continued, "At the time I killed Zork, I managed to erase him form the face of the Earth but not entirely. So to make sure he didn't escaped in the future, I sealed my _whole_ soul into the Puzzle. Since the Puzzle went to pieces after, all the items had the same effects on their owners. Thus Seth, Septi, and Bakura's souls were also concealed. The other Millennium Items did not have the same effect since their owners were dead or not in close contact with their items. Marik on the other hand was created by Malik's anger, which at the same time came into contact with a painful memory. But his family blood-line were originally Shadow Casters, so there was no harm done."

"Okay, you have to kill in order to make your soul to be preserved right?" Adrian looked to Marik.

Marik nodded.

"But what I don't get is the part where You-Know-Who has done seven Horcruxes…" Adrian added.

"That's because Voldemort is not a D4 wizard. As talented since he was young, it doesn't change the fact he is a normal half-blood wizard." Marik said.

As horrified the house elf to know this new information, he looked very confused, "Lenny doesn't understand Marik sir."

"I'll explain that bit." Bakura volunteered. "Well you see… there's a glitch."

"A glitch in magic? Magic doesn't have glitches like muggle inventions do." Justin said incredulously.

Bakura thought for a moment, "A glitch, in terms of… how do you say it… the way many of us D4 wizards do not rely on wands to use magic. Or you could say the glitch that made everything different is because normal non-D4 wizards _use wands._"

Adrian raised an eyebrow, "How could that effect the outcome?"

"It's like converting two very different languages, say for instance an English sentence is converted to Mandarin. They're no way by any means the same or have some similarities to one another. Therefore, there is a risk of the original sentence in English won't be as pure when you read the translation version. Or you should say a few things would or might be missing." Nash voiced in.

"So You-Know-Who converted this magic so it could be used by normal wizards sir?" Lenny said.

"No, the dark lord didn't." Sieg said. "An older Dark wizard who was defeated by Dumbledore called Grindelwald in 1945 successfully converted the spell nearly a century ago before he was defeated. He never had a chance to use it though, since the risks of using it were very alarming."

Bakura then added, "For our case in Ancient Egypt, we were able to preserve our souls in the Millennium Items through a long sleep. Our consequences of living in the future would be losing our memories and in order to live like now, we have to find our reincarnations and share a body. So you could say, _nearly_ immortal has its rules."

"Um, okay I guess I get the point where it's hard to convert for the types of magic. But what made the risks seem so alarming?" Justin asked.

"The fact the spell was converted by Grindelwald to do the whole immortal process _alone_. Which, of course had been the largest mistake any D4 wizard would rather not attempt." Ethan snorted.

"So all the D4 wizards can do this same process I take it?" Adrian said surprised.

"Yes. But _not alone_ and only _if necessary_ that it would effect the future to prevent more harm done." Ethan gave the details.

"Why?" Justin said the most obvious question.

"Soul Summoners know that the process of maintaining one's soul in this world needs the support of others. As you could say if humans can't live without depending on each other, then souls are just the same." Ethan made it clear. "A Horcrux being done by Lord Voldemort is far more painful. You completely rip your soul into two by killing someone and the torn portion can be encased into an item. I would prefer death though, since the entity of the soul should be whole."

Lenny choked, "Wouldn't that mean you have to kill as well in order to preserve your soul sir? I mean for the D4 as well sir?"

"I did say not alone for a reason. In Yami and Bakura's case they did kill a dark lord but it was for the future and it wasn't just Yami who got his soul locked into an M Item. In special cases Horcruxes that can be used by Soul Summoner like me, Element Masters or Alter-Matters, don't necessary have a rule to kill or do any harm to another person or being. Actually it's more of a ceremonial kind of thing." Ethan said.

"Well to go Soul Summoner, go on, explain the rest." Marik said.

Ethan took a breath, "You would presume that if the process is done together as a group, the soul doesn't need to be ripped for the magic is supported together. Therefore there's a 99 percent chance you won't fell the pain and the soul remains intact as one entity. However, when done by yourself, the magic overloads which eventually rips your soul into two."

"Though one thing bothers me. That guy must've been nuts in splitting his soul into seven portions." Bakura said.

"Six." Steven corrected. "He still has to have an original soul in order to do another Horcrux."

"And sixth he failed to make one." Yami said.

"The sixth? Why would he fail after killing off the others?" Adrian asked.

Yami smiled. "The Boy Who Lived is the answer. Harry was the last person to kill in order to make a Horcrux. He wanted to make the death of his destined enemy official to mark his last Horcrux but it backfired. I guess the prophecy of Harry that Bakura stole from the Ministry makes sense now."

"I have a feeling that he'd already made the sixth Horcrux since he came back. I guess it would be your task to find out which items could have a Horcrux." Sieg said. "Horcruxes is rather a touchy subject to be discussed among the staff mind you."

Bakura then asked, "What of the Millennium Items? They're calling out distress signals now and then more often. Care to share more info?"

Steven hesitantly gave his answer, "Voldemort has gotten his hands information on the Millennium Items just before he wanted to go after Harry when he was still a baby. I think he didn't realize that any of the D4 wizards were alive though. He believed that seven was the most powerful magic number thus having an extra gain for the items to his power. So-"

"Enough Steven, I'll tell the _other side_ personally." Sieg said. "Alright, the main thing is in the past he searched for the items, but failed to find suitable traces. After he came back, he again searched for them. But no avail yet since the OotS had sliced out every link there was, now he has gotten his hands on a certain green stone."

Yami's eyes went wide. "The one that managed to drive Dartz insane that he was controlled by the Orichalcos God."

"This is insane! He'll be controlling monsters soon!" Marik said.

"Actually, he's not aware about duel monsters that are actually real. But nonetheless the stone is still with him. There is a chance he'll learn to control those Orichalcos Soldiers and if we're not careful the Serpent God itself." Sieg made his point. "He seems to have added in two more seals to it."

"Any information on those two seals?" Bakura asked urgently.

Sieg shook his head. "Sadly no, we haven't covered any information on that yet."

The whole boathouse went silent…

"What of the gates and the Ministry? Anything new?" Marik spoke first.

"Someone saw a werewolf." Justin said.

Adrian then added, "Fenrir Greyback to be exact, the most dangerous werewolf around and alive today. Seems as though one of our guards is preventing the guard who saw him to spill the beans."

"A traitor among the guard gates at Hogwarts?" Nash asked.

Justin nodded. "Yes, I have a feeling the Death Eaters wish to get into Hogwarts for particular targets."

"I think that would be Harry Potter and Dumbledore." Steven said.

"Indeed. Also, students can be good hostages to demand anything what they want." Adrian said.

"It seems we got a lot of things in our hands." Ethan sighed.

"I guess that wraps up everything for today. Well you all have your posts to get back on to, for you three I wish to speak privately and if possible your hikaris to show themselves." Sieg said.

The others said their goodbyes and walked out of the isolated boathouse with the cover of invisible holograms.

This time the hikaris were in control of their own bodies, leaving the yamis in spirit form but even so Sieg could still see them.

"You wish to tell us something important?" Yugi asked.

Sieg nodded.

Malik only glanced at the Element Master, "Fire away Sieg."

Ryou and the other yamis gave their full attention to Sieg.

Sieg seemed to be agitated on planning when to start, he sighed and said, "Voldemort believed that seven was the most powerful magic number, thus having the Millennium Items in his possession would be advantageous, and had hunted for them before he ever came to know that Harry would be the Chosen One."

"Is there something going on?" Ryou asked in a serious tone.

"This may sound confusing but besides Malik's family, your family Yugi including your grandfather, and also Ryou's family are pure-blood D4 wizards." Sieg said truthfully.

Yugi and Ryou took it in quite well though their faces were shocked. The yamis stood quietly…

"Please, go on." Ryou gulped.

Sieg continued, "It's a reason why you are an Element Master Yugi. As for Ryou, I haven't told you before but you are a Soul Summoner."

-((Are you saying my hikari is a Soul Summoner?))- Bakura said with his eyes wide.

"Yes, there's more to it though. I did mention not all D4 wizards come in contact with the Ministry; your parents were just the same. They lived as normal muggles, to avoid the dark lord at all costs." Sieg explained.

"What do the Millennium Items and Voldemort have to do with our parents?" Malik demanded.

"When did your parents died?" Sieg asked.

"15th of June when I was a year old…" Yugi said.

Ryou gaped. "My mother died on that same date!"

"It's the same date when I went out to the market from my home… and my father…" Malik choked on continuing further.

"All of them were kill by courtesy of Lord Voldemort." Sieg simply.

-((But surely the years on which they died were different for Malik's father I-))- Marik didn't wish to continue to make it hard on his hikari.

Yami looked to his light carefully. –((Do you wish to continue abiou?))-

Yugi weakly nodded. "How- and- why- they were killed?" the boy stuttered.

Sieg closed his eyes, "The dark lord figured your parents had a Millennium Item…which you have… your parents Yugi were killed when your grandfather wasn't around. As for you Ryou, your mother was the one who bought the Millennium Ring for your father…she was also kill a few days later… I'm sorry."

Malik's fist was shaking and white in anger, "What does that date have to do with-"

"The market you went to had a spell that acts as an alarm, which had triggered when a person knows about the Millennium Item it will activate. And if tortured either mentally or physically, the person kills their torturer. The reason why you killed, Marik, and ended sadistic till the Battle City Tournament, was because the spell made you that way." Sieg finished.

None of the three transfers or yamis spoke after that.

Sieg felt guilty and said, "I…I had to tell you this but-"

"Thank you." Yugi said tried as best as he could to smile though his eyes were starting to fill with tears.

Yami gave a nod of understanding. The others said nothing.

With regret, Sieg changed his form back to Professor Sinistra and left the boathouse.

-((So we still carry out our plan to stalk on Harry and Dumbledore tonight?))- Bakura asked slowly.

The others only gave a general glance of saying yes… afterwards they left the boathouse one after the other to sort their own emotions…

-------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Beside the Lake_

_Mid-September_

_4:21 PM… (Local Time)_

----------------------------------------

Yugi sat beside the lake quiet and stared at the lake with emptiness in his eyes.

Yami only watched hikari with guilt washing all over him. How did it all come to this? Why did he have to cause all of Yugi's pain? If he hadn't come to Yugi… his parents would've… Yami didn't wish to continue further thinking about Yugi's parents, but…

The pharaoh mentally cursed himself. Somehow he felt so foolish that he could've helped Yugi when it was actually HE was the source of Yugi's pain.

-(Yami?)-

Yami swallowed, -((Yes abiou?))-

The hikari stood from his sitting position. –(It's _not_ your fault.)-

-((……))-

Yugi faced his darker half, -(It's not your fault. You were confined in the Puzzle, you had nothing-)-

-((To do with the fact you nearly lost grandpa?))- Yami finished.

Yugi became hesitant, -(No it's just…)-

-((What?))- Yami asked.

-(I'm destined for the Millennium Puzzle, so what ever you go through, I go through as well. Just… don't put everything it was your fault. Okay?)- Yugi tried his best to put out his feelings.

-((Yugi, face it. I am also the source why your grandpa and friends get into danger.))- Yami said.

-(No! If you hadn't come into my life, I wouldn't have those friends and I wouldn't be close to grandpa as I am now.)- Yugi defiantly said.

Yami looked away. -((Then what do you want me to do?))-

-(Teach me… Let me learn everything to know about Defence Against the Dark Arts, Shadow Magic and Elemental Magic... At least it's what I could do to know how to defeat Voldemort, for all he has done.)- Yugi looked at Yami with determination.

Yami only could stare at Yugi in amazement. He smiled, maybe that was the only thing he could really do then just protect his lighter half.

-((Yugi… Thank you for releasing my guilt.))-

-((No, Atemu. Thank YOU for giving me a life that has the most priceless memories I would never wish to trade with anyone.))- The hikari smiled.

-------------------------------------

_Tokyo, Japan_

_A Kaiba Corp Office Branch_

_11:00 PM (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------

Seto rubbed his temples. He never felt so dizzy in his entire life. It was a good thing Mokuba had gone home that afternoon, the CEO definitely didn't want his brother see him in this state…

He felt like his head was going to crack. Well… seeing that he had taken eight glasses of liquor would prove that. God knows where his yami went, but he didn't feel he wanted the presence of his darker half right now. It was probably the first time Seto felt he just wanted to be alone… the CEO banged his head on the desk.

But then a dark portal emerged in front of him and came in a _familiar_ person…

"You look like a wreck (o) tomodachi…" the other came in looking at the nearly lifeless being on the office desk.

Seto groaned. "I'd… prefer you didn't… come… at a time like this."

Despite Richard Williams was the Prime Minister of the UK; he did care for his old friend and had used the card that Kaiba gave him through the Shadows to meet his friend who was all the way in Japan. "Looks like you need the psychiatrist _this time_ eh?"

"Using my line?" Seto chuckled through his headache.

"No, slightly altered it." Richard replied.

Seto glared at the PM. "What made you come at a time like this?"

"Plenty, many are worried why you've been taking a rest for the whole day. It's very unlike the CEO of Kaiba Corp to actually take a _whole_ day off."

"Humph, and why all a sudden?" Seto questioned Richard.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure it out if I have met a Ancient Egyptian Priest, a Blue Eyes White Dragon, a young architect, and her yami in my office telling you had the whole day off and not contacting anyone at all, would mean that you have a serious problem." Richard said sternly.

Seto only laughed. "So, it's my turn huh?"

"Exactly." The PM agreed.

The CEO tried to recollect everything he had just heard from the Head of the Element Masters this morning.

"Scrimgeour has this file I've been trying to acquire." Seto stated simply.

Richard only raised an eyebrow. "What do those files contain? Who made you realize it's worth it that you are drinking like this?" the PM demanded.

"Everything about the D4… the official documents why we're hunted down…"

Seto then reluctantly said…

"…And even… about the deaths of my real parents…"

Richard eyes blinked confused, yet he waited patiently for his friend to continue.

'WHAM!' 

Seto slammed his fist still clenched on the table. "That blast Voldemort killed my real parents when he was searching for the Millennium Items! And that lousy Scrimgeour has those files that contain every single sin that the Ministry has committed! Huh… Law in the wizarding world seems utterly vile."

"Are you saying that the deaths of your real parents isn't a matter of an vehicle accident?" Richard asked carefully.

Seto fumed and stood up, "Accident? You call someone who got blasted with a Avada Kedavra Spell an ACCIDENT!"

Richard slightly winced, "Alright, calm down. I have no clue what's been happening and what you've been doing during this month. I prefer you would remind me so I could help you."

Seto was just about to burst out but then a feeling of pain shot through his head. Maybe that'll be the last time he would ever try to drink alcohol...

"F-Fine, you win this time Richard."

"How was it that your real parents came into contact with the Millennium Items?"

"…"

The PM only looked to Seto's eyes, "I'd take it there's more then what it seems?"

"Yes…"

Richard walked to a small refrigerator taking out a bottle of water, poured it into a clean glass and placed it right in front of the CEO.

"Drink up, it'll make you feel better and it might clear your mind a bit so you could explain without too much stress." Richard advised.

Reluctantly, Seto took the glass of water and swallowed its contents down his throat. He put the cup down and only stared at it.

"Since when have you been looking for your real parents? I thought you had placed it in the past as you always look to the future." Richard started the conversation again.

"Roughly about six months after I was accepted to Takazumiryu Magic School or about the same time I found out I was a Alter-matter by D4 terms. Ever since I knew that wizards inherit magic from their parents, I tried tracking down my real parents if they were wizards themselves."

"By all means you found out…"

"Both of my real parents are Alter-matters." Seto sighed. "They were a part of a project in finding the Millennium Items working with the Ministry or so it seems."

"So the Ministry do know the existence of the Millennium Items?"

Seto stared at his friend as though he was a teacher looking at a student who answered the question one plus one equals four. "Only a few, but the number who have known the truth of Items are diminishing. Most likely the secret would be shared only amongst each Prime Minister, from one successor to the next."

"May I ask you one thing?"

"…"

"Em… How did your parents get killed by Voldemort if on that same year you were born and the accident happened years after?"

"Through a Horcrux." Seto answered quietly.

"A what?"

"By technology and scientific terms that would the same as a clone of himself."

Richard paled when he heard that.

"But by magic terms it's simply by ripping your soul into two and encasing the other in a _desired item_." Seto explain.

"He had wanted to put a part of his soul in the Millennium Items then!" the PM exclaimed.

The CEO only gave a nod, "Even though he already made previous Horcruxes, the Millennium Items had favourable characteristics Voldemort liked. One of them being there were seven items, seven as the most powerful magical number. The second reason would be they already had dark magic properties, which would ensure him a helpful comeback just in case the other Horcruxes were destroyed."

Richard only asked, "Seto, where on earth did you get all of this information?"

"… My parents' Secret Keeper told me…"

Richard's eyes narrowed.

"Dimitri…"

"The second Head of the Illusionists."

"Yes, he an Alter-matter himself… and these files came with him." Seto lightly slide what it seemed to be a thick folder containing Ministry documents.

When Richard read the first two pages his whole being was in bewilderment. "But… impossible… this is a _massacre_!"

"Like I said, the Ministry's laws are utterly bullshit. You may have noticed Yugi's parents and even a few of our other OotS relatives were apart of the project. All of them made discoveries about the whereabouts of the Millennium Items. _Yet, all of them are now dead_. Dimitri went through a hell lot of trouble to retrieve the files."

Richard was angry, "When I get to meet Fudge again there will an interrogation in my office! The Ministry intended to leave them to Voldemort's hands… even after the project finished, the Ministry had planned to silence everyone that were apart of the project!"

"It's a matter of getting those files Richard."

Richard looked to the CEO, "I have a plan. But I'll need your help if you want those files to be ours."

"Richard, you're one hell of a friend." Seto smiled.

"Shall we get started then?" Richard earnestly asked.

Seto chuckled. "Yeah, as many would say… _'Revenge is sweet'_."

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The OotS Student's Dorm_

_Mid-September_

_In the Evening (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------------

The three transfers were tied together with rope and looked as if they were a group of hikers. But there was a reason they did this for the three decided to use Malik's shadow abilities so they could change into shadows while they spied on Harry's meeting with Dumbledore. As soon as Harry passed their dorm, they all leapt into his shadow. Harry, unaware that the three members of the OotS were on his shadow swiftly made his way to Dumbledore's Office.

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Headmaster's Office_

_Mid-September_

_In the Evening (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------------

As expected, Harry and Dumbledore had gone straight to matters about the prophecy and information they were going to uncover. Malik of course was recording all of this. Yugi and Ryou were intently listening if in some way Lord Voldemort had any connections with their pasts but heard none. After the conversation was over they all followed Harry and Dumbledore into the Pensive into Bob Ogden's memory.

As Harry and all the OotS members found out in the memory, that Voldemort had indeed been the heir to Slytherin. And Merope, had been Voldemort's mother…

-((For some reason, things do get interesting))- Bakura commented.

Malik agreed. –((More memories like this and we may know about Voldemort's history and maybe what items are Horcruxes.))-

-(It'll take a while longer before we get that far though.)- Yugi said making his point.

-(True, I bet Professor Dumbledore made this memory as a start for Harry to grasp things about his enemy.)- Ryou said.

Malik of course was busy recording everything on a handy cam to participate in the conversation.

-((At least this information can beneficial to find other links about the dark lord himself.))- Yami said.

-((It's quite scary knowing your enemy's past.))- Bakura admitted.

Marik looked to the thief, -((Yeah you could say- ))-

"Sir, may I ask you something about the new transfer students?" Harry asked.

This of course caught all six of the OotS members' attention… 

Dumbledore only smiled pleasantly. "What do you wish to know Harry?"

"I don't know how to say this but…"

"They are unbelievingly talented?" Dumbledore finished.

"Um, yeah. I'm just curious… I guess."

"Ah, well, they are somewhat the same as their headmaster when he was in Hogwarts." Dumbledore chuckled.

"The Headmaster of Takazumiryu Magic School?"

"Yes, Professor Ryu was also in Gryffindor House, a very unusual student and yet at the same time intelligent and talented." Dumbledore told Harry. "May I know further on why you asked about them?"

"Do you think they may be well…worthy to join the Order (OotP)?"

Dumbledore was silent when he heard that.

-(Is it me, or are we gaining Harry's trust a little too fast?)- Ryou asked.

-(We'll just have to see what happens next)- Yugi shrugged.

"Actually their abilities are far worthy then a normal students. Now that you mention it Harry, I may have to ask Ryu if he wishes to join." Dumbledore said.

Harry hesitated at first but then asked, "You think they can be trusted sir?"

"In terms of trust Harry, they may be more trustable then the Ministry."

"Why is that sir?"

"Their ideals and beliefs are quite different to the main wizarding world." Dumbledore said.

"Different?" Harry said repeating the headmaster's word.

"The way the laws of the Ministry should have worked. You see Harry; all who are apart of the Japanese Ministry of Magic are Moderate. They do not think we should reject Muggles or any of their knowledge and inventions. Rather they have a high respect for Muggles and wish to work together, unlike our own Ministry where there are still many wizards who deny muggles have their own worthiness."

Harry was in shock.

"Such an amazing feat done by the countries in the east, even in Professor Ryu's school, all of the house-elves are free. I have to admit that their school is worthy of becoming an example to other great magic schools."

"So, do you think they may join the OotP sir?" Harry asked again.

Dumbledore thought for a while and said, "I _may_ invite them into joining, however I would not force them if they don't wish to."

-((I know it's lame to say this but- WHAT THE FREAKING HELL?))- Marik said.

-((Well that was certainly fast to gain their trust…))- Yami said truthfully.

Yugi looked to his darker half, -(I have a dreadful feeling we're going to be called by Professor Dumbledore to his office soon.)-

"I'll call them to my office after the Quidditch Tryouts then." Dumbledore said pleasantly.

The hikaris and yamis dropped to the floor… 

-(Isn't that tomorrow?)- Ryou said.

-((Yes little hikari, and I have a feeling we better practice on our acting then Quidditch.))- Bakura replied.

Just as Harry was going to ask about the ring, Dumbledore had said goodnight. Without further or do Harry exited the office…

------------------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The OotS Student's Dorm_

_Mid-September_

_Nearly Midnight (Local Time)_

-------------------------------------------------------

Ryou sighed heavily lying down on his bed. That was sure had been a LONG day…

After he found out that his mother was killed by the courtesy of Voldemort, he just felt so angry that he snapped at his yami. But he knew he didn't intentionally wanted to. His yami had said nothing afterwards about it and even during the mission they didn't interact so much. With nothing to do, he decided to visit his yami's soul room…

------------------------

_In Bakura's Soul Room…_

------------------------

Ryou opened the thief's soul room slowly looking around nervously.

"Boo!"

"AAAHHH!"

"Scared you!" The thief cackled.

"You didn't have to freak me out like that!" Ryou pouted to his yami.

Bakura looked bored, "Have you ever heard of knocking hikari?"

Ryou only ignored him.

"So… what did you come in here for? It's not very like you to come into my soul room." Bakura stated.

"I'm….sorry." Ryou said.

Bakura scoffed. "What has been going on in your freaking mind hikari?"

"Can't you at least accept an apology for snapping at you this afternoon?" Ryou sighed.

Bakura only laughed. "Fine… ha ha ha… though I'd prefer you didn't have to."

Ryou only raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, everyone has that time when they're mad at something. Don't take things too seriously, it might drive you nuts." Bakura commented.

"…"

"You know what hikari, if you could be a little darker like when you were duelling this afternoon, maybe things between us can be a lot more smoother."

"What are you implying?" Ryou said.

"Stop being a total goody-goody. There are times when you really _need _to have revenge." Bakura hinted.

"What are you-"

Bakura cut in, "You want to get back on Voldemort right? How about learning more about summoning souls from Ethan? I bet it'll be useful in fighting Death Eaters."

Only one thing went in Ryou's mind right now… Was his yami trying to help this hikari? … Ryou couldn't help but laugh. He admitted he did go overboard of getting into sticky situations, and maybe it was the time to let things run lightly along. And most of all, having his yami had a human side was something he was glad for.

"See? Too much stress of being serious kills you." Bakura grinned.

"Um… Thanks yami."

Bakura chuckled. "As Mark Twain would say… Humour is Man's greatest blessing. I can't wait for the Quidditch tryouts tomorrow."

Ryou sweat dropped, "Not for that one!"

----------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Quidditch Pitch_

_Mid-September_

_The Next Morning (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

As Harry expected, the trials took most of the morning. Half of Gryffindor house seemed to have turned up, from the first-years who were nervously clutching their brooms, to the seventh-years who towered over the rest looking coolly intimidating.

_-Chapter 11, Hermione's Helping Hand, Pg.210, British Hard Cover, HP & the Half-Blood Prince-_

-----------------------------------------

That of course included the new transfer students from Japan…

Ron looked at their brooms with wide eyes, "NO WAY! All of you have a _Firebolt_!"

Ginny looked excited, "I don't think any bad Quidditch players would use those, I mean Harry has one too!"

"Hope you guys can make it to the team." Harry smiled with a better hope there might be people who were worthy to be in the Gryffindor team.

Yugi only chuckled in the back of his soul room. It was yami's go in Quidditch, after he played the last match in Japan. The Firebolt Yugi had, was a gift from his grandpa. About the other two… he had a feeling they had got the Firebolt over the holidays. Ever since Malik and Marik went on spying missions they did bring a rather large amount of gold back, so it wasn't really odd to see them with a Firebolt. For Ryou and Bakura's case… that would be stealing no doubt… Yugi figured Ryou didn't wanted to return the broom because he didn't want to make his yami go haywire…

The first two hours were used to sort out between those who had talents in flying or who had just managed to lift off the ground and to find the right Chasers for the team. To Harry's delight, Katie Bell had made a comeback from the old Quidditch team. Ginny of course had done excellently well, she definitely had some of Charlie Weasly's talents in Quidditch for she scored seventeen scores to boot. Then came their last Chaser…

Yugi Mutou was something Harry never expected… Or should we say… Yami? He dodged any Bludgers with ease and made very well executed goals. Strategically, the spiky haired boy could adapt to any surprise situation and counter back. He perfectly fitted well when he worked together with Katie and Ginny. Added with the speed of the Firebolt, Harry couldn't really say no at all for Yugi to become a Chaser.

"That was great! I hope Ryou and Malik are good as you are Yugi." Harry exclaimed as hover near Yami on his broom.

Yami's eyes looked from the wannabe Beaters on the field to Harry, "Um, Harry… what's the test to be a Beater?"

"We're going to release the Bludgers to see who can last the longest." Harry replied.

Yami and Yugi sweat dropped…

-(Um, Yami…)-

-((I know. I think I'll try to search for a safe place for cover after this…))-

"Well one thing I could tell you Harry." Yami said.

Harry only raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"I'd rather stay on the ground if I were you. When both Ryou and Malik are up in the air as Beaters… well… Who knows what might happen…" Yami said innocently.

"Why's that?"

"In the last school competition in Japan they sent all three Chasers and two Beaters of our opponents team to the Hospital Wing." Yami answered.

"Err… right. I guess I will… after I blow my whistle." Harry said uncomfortably.

In the middle of the Quidditch Pitch…

-((So… we have 40 people trying out as Beaters. Want to have bet thief?))- Marik cackled.

The thief only looked and grinned at his 'present' rival. –((Bring it on, you insane person!))-

-(Ryou, I think we better not see this.)- Malik said.

-(Yeah, I'll be in my soul room after the first whistle, than worry if I'm going to get detention.)-

-((Fine, the person who gets the most people whacked down wins!))- Marik said.

-((Wait. There are 40 people hovering here. If we both get 19 then it's not much fun.))- Bakura pointed out.

-((Nah… Thief… if we get 19 each we aim for _that person_, 4 o'clock in front of you.))- Marik added.

Bakura looked to a certain fellow sitting in the stands…

-((What can I say? We yamis are just… _plain evil_…))- Bakura grinned.

'TWEEET!' 

Yami watched from the ground wondering what mayhem those two might cause, still he had his broom in his left and wand in his right hand just in case… things might go… you could say… _disastrous… _

Thus the battle of who survives in the end had just started…

A few second-years who were not well in controlling their broom immediately plummeted to the ground as two Bludgers pushed them off. The other older students on the other hand were trying to dodge away from the Bludgers that were constantly being whacked by either Bakura and Marik for the two yamis never gave anyone a chance to make contact with them. Then the third year accidentally crashed into a goal post just because he dodged a Bludger sent by Marik. A few had raised white flag with their wands in saying they gave up.

"Yeesh, they're pretty violent." Ron commented.

"What's a matter Weaselbee? Scared?" Malfoy shout from the back of the stands and some Slytherins laughed with him.

Ron's ears went red.

"That's only the beginning." Yugi said.

Yami agreed. -((Yup…But I wonder how it's going to end…))-

Even though Ryou's body was smaller then the seventh-years, Bakura had managed to take two of them with one strike. Now for the scores…

Bakura Hits 17 people

Marik Hits 17 people

Six people apparently had raised the white flags…

Thus the battle is a _DRAW_.

Marik and Bakura prepared to strike their bludger at each other, with all they could muster…

'_THWAK!'_

'_WHACK!' _

'_CLING!'_

The two bludgers had collided…

'_WHOOSH!'_

And flew…

'_BOOM!'_

Right into where Malfoy and his cronies were sitting… Yamis are just… plain evil… 

The Gryffindors and other houses that were present watching the Quidditch tryouts laughed. A lot of people were clapping and even saying the two transfers were the 'New Weasly Twins'….

-((That was an _extraordinary_ _wonderful_ shot.))- Yami complimented the other two.

Yugi could only smile and chuckle. 'Yamis are _plain mischievously evil _beings.' The boy thought.

-((Thank you Pharaoh, we couldn't decide another way to win…))- Bakura said innocently.

-((So… we figured that a certain person was a _fluffy punching bag…_who happened to be strategically situated on the perfect spot to be_ the target…_))- Marik acted angelically.

Harry couldn't be more pleased at the great shot they did. "Malik, Ryou, you're on the team!"

The two yamis in the air high-fived one another and landed near Yami.

Demelza Robins who failed to be Chaser went to the three transfers. "Well done the for three of you, I got a message from Professor Dumbledore. He said he wanted to meet all after the Quidditch tryouts."

The three duellists looked to each other.

-((I don't think we can get away with it now.))- Marik said in their minds.

"Harry, we'll see you later in the common room." Ryou said.

"We need to meet the Headmaster." Yugi said.

"Hey, um Yugi, Malik, Ryou. If there's anything you guys want to talk about after what Dumbledore told you just ask me, Hermione or Ron, okay?" Harry advised.

"We will." Malik nodded.

And so the members of the OotS headed towards the Headmaster's office…

TO BE CONTINUED…

-------------------------------------------------------

Well there you go! One longer chapter than the previous one! Yeah, you could say we're getting deeper into the plot.

Many of our YGO character's parents were apart of the D4 wizards… all who were also apart of the Ministry's operation in uncovering the M Items…

Seto and Richard have a plan…

Don't anyone go on Ryou's bad side… coz he's a lot like his yami when he's angry and in a duel…huahahaha…

Bakura's human side showing itself again…

Bakura and Marik blasted the Slytherins in the Quidditch tryout! Yeah! Go Kura and Marik! No one has ever literally written about Malfoy and his cronies being blasted off on the stands… (I'm glad I did…hehe…) And Yami's dark side made another appearance as well…

Next on HP, HBP, and the OotS… 

Dumbledore wishes to meet Yugi and co. in his office…

One hectic trip to Hogsmade…

Something has happen! (Wait… screw that line…)

Be afraid…

BE VERY AFRAID!

Our duelists' _'status'_ has finally been uncovered! Huhahahahaha… I've been waiting too long for this!

The next chapter:

_**Chapter 11: 'The Difference Between Misfits and Celebrities.'**_

**SPECIAL NOTE!**

As many of you have waited for the big moment our YGO characters will have their _'status' _revealed to Hogwarts, I asking anyone for any ideas for my next chapter! A reviewer request kind of thing! If your idea is good I'll put it in the next chapter! So what are you waiting for? Post them up and if it's good I'll get it in the story!


	11. Chapter 11: The D B C & M

Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows 

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be representatives of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any thing of YGO and HP in this fic (or food/drink merchandise or anything that are commonly known)...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J.K.Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

**I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:**

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book or any HP book _-text-_

Upcoming paragraph (s) to do with emails, articles or flashbacks _Text_

Status of Duel Monster: (No. Of Stars or Level /ATK/DEF)

Any Japanese will be in italics and have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

**AU Notes: **

For this chapter I really won't call it a late one because I did a LOT of research for this. Oh yes, someone confirmed to me that Prof. Sinistra in the book is a woman. However, in my story Sinistra is a guy, ok? For future plot reasons that is… My new record of 12,800 words for this chapter! I'm sorry I haven't replied reveiws from the prevoius chapter, time is not going good for me... A LOT stuffis making me busy...ALSOA MASSIVE thank you for everyone who have contributed ideas!

Well enough of me… Our item holders aren't in a pretty situation…

Enjoy!

_**Chapter 11: 'The Difference Between Misfits and Celebrities.'**_

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, on the way to the Headmaster's Office_

_Mid-September_

_That Afternoon (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------------

Even though the group were sent to meet Dumbledore, they had stopped in a deserted corridor to plan if the headmaster were to invite them into joining the OotS. For security measures they had put a hologram covering over them, just in case other students happened to pass by…

-((What the hell are we supposed to answer? I mean in 30 minutes we'll say 'YYeeeesss, we'd LOVE to join the OotP'… I swear that Potter boy is giving me the creeps. Aren't things happening a little bit too fast?))- Marik sighed.

Bakura rolled his eyes, -((Come on, dark tomb keeper. What's wrong with your dull mind? We'll think of something…or just postpone on when we're going to agree to be apart of the OotP.))-

-(Postpone it?)- Malik asked.

-(It is a better choice then saying yes immediately.)- Yugi pointed out.

Ryou frowned. -(How so? I mean wasn't it our task since the _beginning_ of the year? Trying to get into the OotP with _no problems_.)-

-((If we immediately say yes, it would look suspicious. But if we postpone it a bit, we might know more about the OotP.))- Yami stated.

-((But… you know we don't have that much time to spare. October is coming soon and we need at least reliable info on the OotP by December. I hate to say it, but our schedule comes first.))- Marik complained.

Everyone sighed…

-(So… what will it be?)- Malik looked to all of them.

-((Why not call _him_? He knows _everything_ that's happening in the Order.))- Bakura suggested.

-(What? Now?)- Yugi said confused.

-(It's worth a try.)- Ryou agreed.

-((All who disagree?))- Yami said.

No one raised his hand.

-((Looks like a call it is.))- Yami said.

Yami took over Yugi's body, flipped the cell phone out and dialled.

/ Hello/ Yami said.

/ _Hai_ (yes), who's this/

/ It's me, Yami. /

/ Ah, Atemu-san! _(O) genki desu ka?_ (How are you?) Are you well? It's rare of you to call, especially since Hogwarts, eh/ A loud cheerful response came from the other side of the line that Yami at least had to keep the cell phone a foot distance from his ear.

/ I prefer you didn't shout my real name on the telephone line, _Föin Etesian_. / Yami sighed.

_Föin_ only sweat dropped. / All right, you made your point. I wouldn't want my real name said on the line. Sorry about that, _Hogwarts wa dō desu ka?_ (How is Hogwarts?) /

/ Proceeding as planned. Nevertheless, we have a slight problem right now. /

The man on the other side only said/ Tell me everything. /

/I'll keep the conversation short. Our Hogwarts Head master is already offering us to join the OotP right now; we're heading to his office soon. /

/ _That_ fast? … I see. You have any plans/ _Föin_ asked.

/ It's definite we're joining. Though, we would like to postpone in saying yes so we won't raise suspicions among its members. However, we don't have much time. You know we have deadlines to meet this December for the Order. / Yami said.

The other side of the line was silent…and then said/ Postpone it for week. If you're very close to Harry Potter as Sieg described to me, Harry and his friends will offer more information on the OotP during that week. Besides, Professor Ryu has confirmed to me Dumbledore visited him this morning in Japan. He's already accepted to join the OotP. /

/ I thought so, thanks for the tip. _Sumimasen_ (Sorry to bother you). /

/ Not at all, you could've been the leader of the OotS after all. /

Yami only chuckled/ No thanks, I like infiltration work better and you're better at leading all four branches. Plus, I wouldn't think that anyone would expect you to be the leader of our Order. /

The other laughed. / You're good at complementing Yami-san. I'll see you in December or earlier, _if possible_. Take care. /

/ You too. / Yami replied and ended the call.

-(It looks like a week then.)- Yugi concluded.

With a decision set, they made their way to Dumbledore's office…

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Headmaster's Office_

_Mid-September_

_After the Quidditch Tryouts (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------------

The three sat down on the chairs that were facing to the headmaster's desk quietly as Dumbledore flicked his wand and served tea.

"You called us Professor?" Malik asked.

"Indeed. Please make yourselves comfortable, there is a matter I wish to discuss," the headmaster said. "And I have contacted your headmaster, Professor Ryu about this."

"What's that sir?" Yugi asked, even he knew far too well about the OotP.

Ryou waited patiently for Dumbledore to answer.

"You three may be aware of Voldemort's comeback I presume."

"Yes. Does this meeting have something to do with him?" Ryou asked.

"I'm afraid it does. I wish to invite you all to join the Order of the Phoenix, that's if you don't mind," Dumbledore said pleasantly.

"Order of the Phoenix?" Malik acted as if he just had heard it. Though mentally he was rolling his eyes…

"An organization I created to go against Voldemort and his followers over a decade ago."

"Um, why are you inviting us? I mean, aren't there other students around?" Yugi said trying to continue on the conversation.

Dumbledore merely smiled. "Your talents Mr. Mutou, are very shocking for your schoolmates in Potions." He then turned to the other two, "And I would not doubt Mr. Bakura's Divination grades or Mr. Ishtar's Ancient Runes grades. But overall, the grades for Defence Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration of you three young gentlemen are astounding even by normal wizarding standards."

The three transfers waited for the headmaster to continue.

"I take it that your friends do not know you are in your second year in a wizarding school but in the sixth-year?" Dumbledore asked.

"Uh… No." the three said together.

"Your talents surpass even the smartest student of the year. If you are not careful, your talents may be recruited for the Death Eaters instead."

Malik shrugged. "Why would Death Eaters want to recruit us? We don't have any business that's related to them."

"You in person may not have any business with the Death Eaters. However it's your talents is what they are searching for, if they invited you and you rejected them, there is going to be a chance they will want to kill you." Dumbledore explained.

"Well… we don't know much about the Order. Is there a chance to know this Order a bit better?" Ryou asked.

Yugi also voiced in, "I guess we know you wanted us to join in for our safety, but is it alright if we postpone the agreement and get to know more about the Order first before joining in?"

Malik nodded, "I'm with Yugi, I wouldn't want to join right away of what I'm not sure of. Just making sure if… well, you know… our freedom isn't being taken away…"

"I understand. If you wish to know more about the Order of the Phoenix you can ask both Professor McGonagall and I or you may ask Harry and his friends if you wish. How long do you wish to postpone this agreement?"

The three looked at each other uncertainly.

"I'll give you time for yourselves then." Dumbledore said and walked to the other side of the office.

Yugi, Malik and Ryou looked at each other and never said a word. However it was evident they were speaking through a mind link…

-(Um… this is it?)- Yugi asked.

-(Circumstances may turn dire… especially when Snape knows we're in the OotP.)- Malik said.

The other hikaris sweat dropped. They had somehow forgotten about the double agent…

Ryou winced, -(He's going to really try to get us into trouble… I just hope it's not going to be in class.)-

Yugi sighed, -(Since we're going to be apart of this Order, we should be very careful what we do in front of him. The wizard duel in DADA did show I was capable knocking out a Death Eater… but I'm afraid there might be chances they may recruit us to join their side.)-

-(Even if we were already a part of the OotP?)- Malik said nervously.

-(Well… it did happen to Wormtail or Peter Pettigrew. As long as there's some wizard blood in those people I don't see why they don't wish to recruit us.)- Ryou agreed with Yugi.

-(We can speak about that later… so… do we join?)- Yugi waited for his two friends.

Malik gave 'a thumbs up', -(It's now or never.)-

The three went to Dumbledore and gave their answer.

"Please give us a week," Ryou said.

"Very well, a week it is." Dumbledore smiled ever so pleasantly.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Dumbledore said.

It was Professor Trelawney. "My, is that my favourite student Ryou?" she said with her weird tone voice.

"Yes it is Sybil, I just finished discussing a few matters with Mr. Bakura and his friends. You three should be going, I have a feeling Harry wishes to know about this," Dumbledore gave them a wink.

The three only chuckled and left the office…

----------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The OotS Room of Requirement (1st Floor) _

_Mid-September_

_That Evening… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------------

After they went to Dumbledore's office, they went to the Gryffindor common room to find Ron had been selected to be the Keeper for the Quidditch team. Seeing Harry and his friends were busy finishing off a Charms essay, the OotS members decided to go to their Room of Requirement to do homework and speak about the Order freely without anyone else listening.

"It's a good thing we only have this quiz to finish off," Ryou said. "I wouldn't think I'd be getting good grades without a time turner."

"Yeah, especially we only had started this kind of magic for only a year," Malik agreed.

Yugi then corrected, "Come to think of it, over a year really."

Marik looked annoyed. -((Ehem. DING DONG! Are you people daft or something? What's our next move?))-

-((Patience Marik, we can't move about in the school recklessly.))- Yami stated.

-((Pharaoh's got a point. Either if we're apart of the OotP or not, there's still Death Eaters in our way.))- Bakura pointed out. –((By the way Yami, you have any ideas what our leader is planning?))-

-((Actually, I received an email from him this morning.))- Yami said.

"What about?" Malik asked.

-((About the information concerning the Millennium Items. The rest of the main files are with Scrimgeour or so it seems, Kaiba and Prime Minister Richard Williams are planning something.))- Yami stated.

-((That's it?))- Bakura asked.

Yugi nodded, "Yep, wait… oh yeah, he also mentioned if we wanted to know more about our parents go and see Sieg personally."

Ryou sighed, "I wonder if we can stop the _Unknown Prophecy of Destiny_ (UPD) from happening…"

-((How can he be so cheerful at a time like _THIS_? Seriously, our leader of the OotS is nuts.))- Marik said.

Bakura shook his head. -((I wouldn't doubt that… I mean he couldn't have been entirely sane to recruit people like us, would he?))-

-((Plus ordering seven unlikely candidates to steal from a ministry with tight security, sending students to spy into a school, having spies in every sector of the ministry and the wizarding world… I'm with Bakura; he's not completely sane at all.))- Yami agreed.

Malik only stayed silent as they talked about the OotS' current leader and kept his mind away from his yami. What he wanted right now was the whole truth on the Millennium Items, Voldemort, and maybe most of all… about his own parents… He never knew his own mother at all since he only heard from Isis and Rishid that she died giving birth to him. But overall… his past was still in the shadows, ever lost but at the same time it was close right there in front of him. Even the Millennium Eye he had in his left eye right now couldn't see such past. But that day when his father was killed, did it really happen in front of his eyes? After he heard the UPD on the holidays, his memory of the day his father died blurred, and the more he tried to remember it the foggier the memory went.

He didn't care then for he thought it was better to forget such a past. It was only yesterday Malik started thinking seriously by any chances his real memory had been replaced by a substitue one. The other thing that bothered the Egyptian the most was the existence of Marik. Was his yami created by his own anger? Yami and Bakura had lived to this day because of a Horcrux, but why did Marik appear all a sudden? Even Professor Ryu had said Marik's existence was very unusual, he was a spirit very much like Yami and Bakura but he didn't come from a Horcrux, yet he needed to rely on a host or body. Malik only sighed and thought, 'I'll talk to Sieg tonight.'

"Malik are you alright? You just spaced out all sudden." Yugi asked the Egyptian boy.

Malik snapped back to reality, "Uh- yeah. I guess. Something just went through my mind."

"What's that?" Ryou asked.

"Don't we have a Hogsmade visit this October?" Malik inquired.

Yami glanced at the others and said, -((A good start to know more members of the OotP, I heard there are a few members who are hanging around in Hogsmade. One of them in particular has a knack to steal.))-

-((Who's that?))- Bakura perked up and a grin grew on his face.

"Yami, I thought I asked you after the meeting just a month ago not to get Bakura another thief friend…" Ryou said in disappointment.

-((Too late, Bakura's stealing hormones had just reacted.))- Marik pointed to the thief.

Bakura was now grinning wide and doing flips around the room like he was high on sugar…

"……………………" Everyone sweat dropped.

-((Maybe I shouldn't have told him that.))- Yami sighed.

----------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The OotS Dorm Room_

_Mid-September_

_That Night… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------------

Yami looked at the two empty beds in front of him, 'At least this night will quiet.' He thought.

After, the Pharaoh went back pouring over a book of Elemental Magic spells that Sieg gave him. One thing that Yami would comment about the book was… _Dead Useful…_ As much as Yami found out about the D4 wizards, their magic came out so naturally that it wasn't necessary to have a tool to make the magic flow. Even Yugi had tested his own powers without wearing the Millennium Puzzle; the effects of spell hadn't decreased at all. On the contrary when Yugi wore the Puzzle around his neck the spells were somewhat boosted and far more effective. The only hazard was using a wand…

For this 5000 year old Pharaoh, he couldn't agree more how much trouble wands can cause…The reason being, wands needed to be flicked in the right direction, the incantations had to be pronounced or thought correctly, no wand means you can't do magic…and the most annoying of them all… it made Shadow and Elemental magic less effective. In conclusion… _Wands are definitely not suitable for a D4 wizard. _

How on earth did Yami know that D4 magic spells were less effective? He had deliberately shot back one at Snape in his first lesson of DADA… It only had managed to freeze only his arm… when the spell was actually made to freeze the whole body. So basically what the wand did was decrease the spell's effectiveness by 80… in real wizard duel situations that would mean suicide.

Yami groaned; somehow… he just wanted the whole thing to end.

Shay who had happened to be perching on his shoulder, pulled one of the spiky ends of his hair.

"Ouch! Okay, okay, fine Shay… I won't show anymore pessimistic faces," Yami said as he tried to calm the phoenix down and the same time make sure no hair had fallen out.

After the bird was content of its master's facial expression change the bird lightly jumped on the bed in front of Yami.

Yami only stroked the bird's head, "You yet snap me back on reality again. Now in the present and even 5000 years ago…"

Shay puffed its chest as though it was proud of itself.

Yami only laughed, for a golden phoenix it was also one rather cocky bird. Funny… Shay was the phoenix he met those 5000 years ago before Egypt turned into chaos but sadly Yami had rejected his help. The Pharaoh guessed the name Shay that came from the Ancient Egyptian God of Destiny really suited his feather friend. Shay didn't merely meet him by accident all those 5000 years ago…

Yami suddenly realized that there was another magic signature present in the room.

"Steven… you might as well make your appearance right now… and you can't fool me in saying 'I'm a wind inside a dormitory' when the windows are closed," Yami chuckled.

A gust of wind formed into a young slight build man aged about twenty-five with wavy brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a blue leather cloak, and had an easy-going look. The young man who was named Steven stretched his arms before greeting his fellow D4 wizard.

"I thought it didn't work," Steven admitted.

Yami only raised an eyebrow, "And who the hell convinced you that it would?"

"Let's see… someone called the King of Thieves," Steven said smiling.

The Pharaoh couldn't help but snigger, "I had a feeling it would be him. He's pestering prefects again I take it?"

Steven grinned, "Slytherin ones which happened to pass by, though he's now with Ethan accompanying Ryou for his Soul Summoner magic lessons."

"Those powers will be useful when the time comes." Yami said.

"You mean if the UPD happens?"

"Yeah."

"Things have been tough lately," Steven said with a tired face… but soon to be pecked by a grumpy phoenix, "Alright! Okay! Ouch! Stop pecking!"

Yami smiled, "Shay has a habit of pecking your head or pull anyone's hair if your face shows despair."

"One hell of a grouchy phoenix you have there," Steven snorted as he rubbed his head. Shay simply snuggled himself on the bed, satisfied the element master wasn't showing any facial expressions of despair.

"Is it true it usually _only D4 wizards _are born with an ability to get respect from magical creatures such as phoenixes?" Yami asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Dumbledore has a phoenix as well…and I'm just curious."

"I don't know about Dumbledore, but we all do have that ability, though every D4 wizard is different to one another so everyone has their own magical creature or normal animal they could connect with." Steven said. Then the Element Master added, "Though there is an exception… phoenixes only come to who have crucial paths in unlocking the future or in other words an important destiny."

"I thought our leader had a phoenix."

Steven then corrected, "He does, but it's not with him. I heard he sent it to protect a friend. As for normal D4 wizards, the magical creature that you can connect with depends on what type of D4 wizard you are and also your own personality. Like your rival Seto Kaiba may connect with all Shadow creatures but he has a knack for communicating with dragons."

"I wouldn't doubt that one at all," Yami said truthfully remembering when he was still in Japan's wizarding school. When the Takazumiryu Magic School had a visit to a dragon ranch, all the dragons had evidently bowed to him (Seto). The tamers of the ranchers were very impressed and decided to try and persuade Seto in joining working on the ranch. Seto of course politely declined but one of the workers was pretty persistent in wanting the CEO to work there. Unfortunately that worker got flamed by a Chinese Fireball dragon into crisp, Seto of course had thanked the dragon afterwards...

"Ethan can connect with spirits but for magical creatures… I'd say Hippogriffs and deadly magic plants."

"How about you?" Yami asked.

"All sized Spiders, Owls or other 'bird of prey' types like eagles and hawks. I guess that's the reason why I'm stationed here to spy on Hogwarts. There are plenty of those little critters. Oh yeah, for some reason the spiders have a thing for Love potions."

"I think that has to do with the prank I set up for the Slytherins," The pharaoh grinned.

"I guess being 5000 years old doesn't change the fact you could still have fun, eh?"

"Fun is a very broad word. Though at times I prefer it as a '_fun_ revenge'," Yami replied.

Steven sweat dropped and thought, 'If sending massive spiders to your enemies was revenge in a _fun _way… I wonder how the _real_ revenge would turn out like…'

Yami then changed the topic, "You think it's wise not to tell Malik that we know about his _true_ past?"

"Leader's orders… I can't go against that one even though I feel uneasy knowing it first." Steven sighed.

"It'll be up to us though when we'll tell Malik that we know his past."

"I prefer we tell him later on."

"Agreed, I just hope he's ready to accept that fact." Yami said as he looked to the Malik's empty bed.

Steven nodded, "Let's hope for the best."

----------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Astronomy Tower_

_Sieg Innes Sinistra's Office_

_Mid-September_

_That Night… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------------

Malik hesitated to open the door. Well…who wouldn't be nervous of getting to know something in the past, which could change your perception on how you run your life? Actually, what bothered the tomb keeper the most was… what would he feel if he found out that his yami's existence wasn't just an accident? He hated the two most annoying words that were ringing in his head at the present, 'Fate' and 'Destiny'… Now, how many times had he heard that? Far too many times to even count… His past was always so vague; he _wanted_ to know what really had happened… but there was a part of him that preferred not to tread on that past.

Then the door opened. "Malik, are you coming in or are you just going to keep your hand on my door knob?" A rather bald old looking astronomy said looking at the nervous tomb keeper.

"Uh… I guess," Malik answered lamely. "How did you know I was outside your door?"

"Forgotten already? The elements told me, plus… I sensed your uneasiness. Come on in," the still bold looking professor said.

Malik slowly entered the astronomy teacher's office with caution but soon the tense feeling resided and was replaced with awe. The room was filled with pictures of mythological gods from both the east and the west sides of the world, but what had caught the Egyptian's attention the most was the ceiling. It was enchanted like the main hall but its beauty was indescribable, it had the night sky filled with countless of stars of the Milky Way, comets passing by, and 3D like images of constellations ever moving.

"Like it?" Sieg asked who was in his real form.

The Egyptian looked to the 23-year-old Element Master frowning, "Are you kidding? It puts the architecture of the main hall's ceiling to shame!"

"It's basically made by space elemental magic, so it's far more natural then normal magic." Sieg said. "Have a seat."

"Thanks," Malik said as he helped himself to sit on a chair opposite to Sieg and something caught his eyes on the desk. "Say, aren't those retirement papers? Going so soon?"

Sieg sighed, "I thought you'd notice it sooner or later. Not too soon really, more accurately at the end of the year."

"I thought we're supposed to spy at Hogwarts."

"I have a hunch Hogwarts won't be opened next year, and I figured I'll be needed in the Order more than ever."

The Egyptian was now pissed, "How do you people get along with this _destiny and fate crap_ so easily?" Malik asked bluntly.

Sieg grey eyes only gazed at the tomb keeper as if it was hollow, then he blinked and looked away, "At first I was like you. I never wanted to be tied to those two words and ended up running away from that reality."

"…"

"I only realized sooner it never got me anywhere." The element master said. "At times I'm glad that _life is short_."

"Gone through rough times too huh?" Malik asked.

Sieg smiled tiredly, "Yeah, it's what a D4 wizard life supposed to be. Sometimes accepting on what you have is another way to enjoy life."

"Have you ever asked _Föin_ what _it_ feels like?"

Sieg went silent for a moment, "No… But… He'd have probably gone through worse things. Maybe his friends too."

If Malik were the person he was like in Battle City, he wouldn't have cared less for other people that had their own destiny to be fulfilled. Somehow, joining the OotS had changed his perception that he wasn't the only one who was facing destiny. In some cases, the Egyptian found out there were some people who had it even worse than him. Their leader Föin was one of the examples.

The tomb keeper guessed it really had to do with being a human. When humans are faced with a problem, they tend to think they're having the worst problem of them all. Yet they never realize that someone else on the other side of the world is going through something ten times tougher. The Egyptian sighed to himself, 'Maybe it's time I really have to know and accept for Marik for what his is.'

"Um… Sieg?"

"Yeah?"

"I-I want to know my real past," Malik said determined.

Sieg looked rather surprised, "How-how did you know that?"

"The Millennium Eye seems to pointing out to me there's something wrong with my memories these days. The more I try to remember the day I went to the market, the more it's starting to blur."

"I take it you want me to lift the memory replacement charm off?" Sieg asked.

"If that's what it takes… then yes."

At first Sieg was hesitant but soon he let go, "… Very well… just a few warnings."

"Bring them on."

"The methods we D4 wizards use will be similar to a Pensive. In order to take the memory replacement charm off, we'll have to go through your memory on that very day you were at the market. Once you're in that memory you cannot step back, do you accept that?" Sieg said sternly.

Malik swallowed hard, _"Yes."_

"Alright then, when you're ready." Sieg said.

"_I'm ready,"_ Malik said as he prepared himself.

Without warning Sieg immediately blasted a spell to Malik.

Malik lost his vision to darkness…

----------------------------------------------

_Somewhere in the Egypt_

_The Market_

_On a hot day… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------------

Malik awoke to the intense heat of the sun he had always recognized. There he was… that fateful day that started the turning point in his life… this was the same market where he met Shadi.

(Everything where it's supposed to be?) Sieg asked

(Yeah, I guess…) Malik said unsure.

(Before we go on further I need you to read this…) Sieg handed a parchment to Malik.

Malik read the paper carefully. (Is…Is this really _her_?)

(Yes, it's your mother.) Sieg replied.

(So, she was apart of the project to find the Millennium Items.) Malik said. The tomb keeper looked at her picture, he never knew what his mother looked like.

"Marik! Come back! This is no time for games!" an Arabic woman passed Malik in front of Sieg and Malik.

"Oh, come on mum! I want to explore this place!" said an excited kid who certainly had the same face as Malik.

(Wait! Nothing like this ever happened! I never even knew her face until you showed me this picture. Plus… this isn't the right road I met Shadi in! S-She didn't _call me Marik_ right?) Malik exclaimed.

Sieg looked troubled, (The spell couldn't have gone wrong… unless…)

(Unless what?)

(The spell I did affects whoever has a mind. Since your body has two minds then…_this memory belongs to Marik_.) Sieg concluded.

Malik could only stare in disbelief that Marik was with _his_ mother. What on Earth was going on?

"How about we buy a drink first so we won't get thirsty?" the woman said her son.

"Okay!" Marik chirped.

(Come, we need to follow them.) Sieg ushered.

Malik reluctantly followed the element master, not quite sure of himself that he was supposed to be looking at his yami's memory.

The two D4 wizards followed the lady and the child to a juice store.

"Like the juice dear?" the woman said kindly.

"Uh-huh." The kid nodded.

Malik felt as though he was just a ghost reaching out to his mother. Why was everything so confusing? Why was his mother with Marik? Why did they suddenly enter Marik's memory and not his? Why was this happening?

Then Malik noticed the kid's face had saddened as though he was thinking of someone else.

"What's wrong Marik?" His mother asked.

"I… I wish Malik were here with us. You know, I wish _my twin brother_ were here to play and explore with me." Marik said.

That inevitably had hit Malik right on spot… It felt as though someone had grabbed his intestines tight. 'Marik? My own _twin brother_?' Malik thought as he gasped.

(Malik, are you alright? Malik!) Sieg called.

Malik didn't answer… or more correctly he couldn't answer. All this time he hated his other half… all that time he was afraid of what Marik was… all that time in battle city Marik nearly killed so many people… all that time it was Marik's fault his father was dead… all that time he wanted to know who was actually Marik…

Marik is his own blood brother…

The smaller Marik soon excused himself from the table saying he was going to the toilet and headed to the backdoor. Without even thinking, Malik followed his twin determined to know what was the missing link that had separated him from the truth for so many years. Sieg ran after Malik making sure he didn't get lost in the memory himself. When the younger Malik had closed the small toilet door in the gentlemen's restroom, two undoubted familiar faces came in.

A young version of _Scrimgeour_ and _Mad-Eye Moody_.

(This… is unexpected.) Sieg said shocked.

"We have to find Miriam Ishtar as soon as possible. She knows about those items, thus she must be eliminated!" Scrimgeour said.

"Sorry, but killing goes against everything in my rulebook. I prefer we only erased her mind and afterwards we're going home." Moody yawned.

"Your not taking this too seriously aren't you? What about those other people who know about those items?"

"You're the one who's taking it far too seriously. I'm going to search for her on the other side of the market." Moody snorted and exited the toilet.

Suddenly the memory blurred…

(What's happening?) Malik shouted.

(It's a time lapse! Everything's going to fast-forward!) Sieg exclaimed.

Malik felt as though he was watching a broken video tape recorder blurred on the TV. Images flashed before his eyes too fast for him to see, but soon it had stopped at a scene in slow motion that Marik would never forget in his entire life…

_A stream of green light magic from Rufus Scrimgeour's wand had shot Miriam Ishtar… Her body dropped lifeless towards the ground and her eyes were still opened. Marik had come in crying over her body screaming and pleading so she could stay alive. Then at the corner of Malik's eye a spell was forming, it had the Dark Mark coming towards Rufus. Sadistically, Rufus had shot a Impervious Curse on Marik and directed the child's body straight towards the Dark Mark… Marik screamed in agony, his torso was ripped as blood poured out. Rufus had apparated, leaving the scene of his crime. _

Marik was barely alive on top of a pool of his own blood. Though his voice was hoarse, Malik could hear clearly, "I have… to stop… him killing Malik… Malik knows about the items… Why did he… have to hurt… mother? Why does… he want… to kill… everyone who… knows about the items?" the child sobbed and coughed through his own blood.

Then Marik's voice changed, "I won't let… _anyone_ hurt… my brother. I won't let…. anyone kill him, because _I'll… kill… them… first_." the child's face turned sinister as he drew his last breath.

Just at the corner of the street, Malik he saw himself meeting Shadi. It seemed as though that day Shadi had blocked the way to see his twin brother and informed his that he needed to go back home. The younger version of him left the market with his sister… then not believing his eyes a spirited form of Marik had entered his body unnoticed…

----------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Astronomy Tower_

_Sieg Innes Sinistra's Office_

_Mid-September_

_10 minutes later… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------------

Malik fell to his knees and gasped for breath after seeing the memory of his yami- twin brother. Sieg immediately had helped Malik sit back on a chair and given him water. Malik couldn't say anything; he quickly gulped down the glass' contents. The element master stayed by Malik's side, ever watching with concern and if Malik would need his assistance.

"Sieg…" Malik whispered.

"What is it?" Sieg gently asked.

"Is it possible for Marik to exist the way he is?"

"He's an Obsessed Spirit. Spirits who are attached to people because they died unhappily with an unfinished business to protect a loved one." Sieg explained.

"But-But he doesn't remember!" Malik shouted.

"Unconsciously he does remember, in every spying case the Order gives you he does all the tracking down right?" Sieg pointed out.

"… I… need to think this out alone…"

"Use your time well," Sieg could only say. Sieg couldn't say 'I understand', it wasn't proper, and he knew if anyone could help Malik, it was his friends.

Malik exited the office dragging his feet behind, he turned into a shadow and walked into the dark corridors… with the darkness covering his face a new feeling of intense hatred was developing to Rufus Scrimgeour and his tears stained his face towards the fate of his twin brother…

------------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle_

_The Third Week of September_

------------------------------------------------

The three transfers had finally admitted themselves to Dumbledore to be the members of the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter felt glad they had joined in. In the week they started to know more about the OotP, Harry was happier then willing to tell anything they wished to know. Not all of the other students in their year liked Yugi, Ryou, and Malik, because maybe everyone thought they were weird. I mean it's not every day you befriend someone who had a punk hair styled hair like Yugi, or white messy hair like Ryou or a person who seemed to be obsessed with gold garments like Malik. Even during Quidditch practices they had done excellently. Yugi did very accurate goals from far distances; Malik and Ryou were great Beaters as though they were Fred and George. Harry was confidant Gryffindor would be a strong team this year, but all he needed to work on was Ron. Ron certainly had the right skills, but at time his nervousness was the thing that lead him to give up so easily.

Unsurprisingly the three transfers had also received invitations to Slughorn's Slug Club, for one, Yugi had a reputation of being best in Potions Class. Next, Professor Luther who taught Ancient Runes had suggested Malik was the best student he taught in learning ancient languages in half a century… Slughorn couldn't resist inviting a maybe soon-to-be best Ancient Linguist in the wizarding world. Slughorn, who certainly was a type of person liked to 'collect' people in his famous people collection didn't want to miss Ryou. The Potions master was not sure at first whether Ryou was truly a seer, but after he forced Ryou doing a reading and the white head boy got all the readings correct… Ryou couldn't decline in joining the Slug Club seeing as he wasn't good in rejecting offers… Harry who had felt sympathetic had altered the Quidditch practices just at the same time Slughorn's Slug Club, not just for them but the lightning scared boy wasn't really in the mood to join those parties where he boasted people off…

Snape who now knew the three transfer students were members of the OotP treated as though they weren't even in class at all. Even if it mean only Hermione was the one who answered the right answers, Snape seemed to learn his lesson of trying to make a scene out of the transfers. Malfoy was not content as Snape was, he had tried to get the three transfers in trouble a couple of times but ended himself detention with Professor Sprout because he got caught in taking sleeping berries at the green house. Professor McGonagall was very pleased with the acceleration progress the three were doing, she even insisted them on borrowing a book from the restricted section called _'Absolutely Advanced Transfiguration'_ that had learning levels to suit an Auror. Hagrid was thrilled on how much Yugi, Ryou, and Malik knew on magical creatures, especially the dangerous one were considered 'awesome' by the three transfers. So it wasn't weird if the transfers kept on gaining at least five house points each per lesson.

Hermione finally gave up to try and defeat the three transfers in academic lessons; instead she used their knowledge to her own advantage to learn more. To her hearts content, she finally had friends who could talk about the subject they were studying at _her_ level. However the only thing was when she asked them to teach her more about Duel Monsters they never seem to be keen on getting their own decks out. From the last duel Ryou had played, Hermione predicted he was really good in duelling for he knew the rules from the basics to the highly advanced rules. A topic that had Hermione bugging her mind was about the D4 wizards; to her surprise she had got an 'Acceptable' in her essay, whereas the transfers yet again got an 'Outstanding' from Snape. For this one topic, Hermione had spent ages in the library scanning for books that had some information with D4 wizards. Sadly what most of the books said _'They are four groups of wizards whose existence has been eliminated by the Ministry of Magic for the safety of the wizarding world'._ That of course only made the brainy girl more persistent in finding out how on earth did the transfers were able to get an 'Outstanding'. Little did she know the transfers were D4 wizards themselves, it's that simple describing D4 wizards when you happen to be one.

Ron meanwhile was in a joyful mood in challenging Yugi when he can to wizard's chess. Yami of course was _delighted_ to accept every single match, since Ron certainly had a talent in playing chess. Though it was always Yugi (or Yami) who had won every single challenge, Ron seemed to be happy to have a rival in chess seeing as no one else in Hogwarts has ever beaten him before after McGonagall's gigantic wizard chess set. It was actually Ron that usually persuaded the transfers to help on the trio's deck, if it weren't for Ron's pestering Harry or Hermione's deck wouldn't be as strong they were now. Ron somehow had figured maybe the transfers were the best duellists in their town for they knew just how much balance you need in a deck, though in reality they were world-ranking duellists who were highly advanced in making complex combos that could even limit their opponent in taking no bigger 500 life points in a single duel.

After Malik had found out that his yami was and is still his twin brother he was _slightly_ softer on the darker tomb keeper. Though at times he would get into ridiculous fights about who's going to take over the body for what class, in the end it usually ended up with Marik who let his hikari take over. Marik of course had noticed Malik's slight change, but he didn't take any of it seriously for he thought this was a great chance for him to be in better terms with Malik and by doing so maybe his hikari would be more tolerant when he was pestering prefects. However, that was mainly an utter excuse since Marik and Bakura's next targets had evidently been the teachers… the main target most certainly was a certain DADA teacher who was also the Head of Slytherin House…

Ryou on the other hand had been busy fixing his schedule to fit in as many times he could meet Ethan in one week. Now that he knew he was a Soul Summoner, Ryou was determined to improve his magic in summoning souls. The basics he had passed with unbelieving speed, which was to change your self into a soul that was undetected by ghosts. The next lesson that he did with Ethan's assistance was to communicate with souls, for souls were very different from ghosts and spirits. Ghosts can be seen if you they let you but when they are visible everyone could see, they're usually have transparent white colour, say for example Nearly Headless Nick or the Bloody Baron. Spirits were similarly like Yami and Bakura, they could only been seen if they let you personally and had to have an object to cling on to. Like if they were tied to a place they become 'earthbound spirits' or to a person 'obsessed spirits' and so on. Souls most certainly existed everywhere as long there was space, however they couldn't be seen unless they take a physical form. According to Professor Ryu, souls are the ones that control the flow of the living and the dead. The last step that Ryou was focusing at the time being was summoning souls into a physical form. Ethan had said the stronger physical form you give to souls the happier they will do a task for you, and whatever form you give them depended on what you want them to turn into. That of course needed determination. So far, Ryou had managed to summon souls into a form of a Bahatmut from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, which was a monster based on a RPG game. He even started to think maybe he should try the nine-tailed Kyuubi Demon from an anime he watched called 'Naruto'. Bakura seemed to be happy with hikari's progress and never bothered him during Ethan's training program.

Both Yugi and Yami were both busy with their own training in controlling the elements with Sieg. To Yami's pleasure, Yugi was advancing very fast in controlling the elements. The hikari was determined to do anything he can that would be useful in order to save his grandfather from frequently contacting the OotS, study Auror level magic, and Void magic. Unlike the other elements, Void was the toughest to control given that there was no source to produce it. Say of example, water can be easily taken from humid air or even a drop of sweat but to produce the element Void required concentration in combining the other elements into one force. Now… you might have been wondering, with all the numerous tasks does Yami even have the time to duel? Guess again, all the transfers' laptop had a DM game at expert levels. Though it was against the computer, Yami was content in trying to beat another deck he made from scratch and use against his own deck. Yugi had duel a number of times like Yami, so even if the two never duelled against other people their decks were growing stronger because it's a lot harder beating yourself.

As the trio found out there was a visit to Hogsmade at the first week of October. However, winter was coming in from England and one Egyptian tomb keeper and his darker half weren't too keen in going out of the castle. With a LOT of persuasion from Yugi, Yami, Ryou, (and a couple of threats from the thief) Malik and Marik agreed to come with them seeing as it had something to do with the Order.

----------------------------------------------

_Somewhere in the United Kingdom_

_Hogsmade _

_The first week of October_

_That Day… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------------

The long awaited day finally came… now the trio had finally arrived in Hogsmade with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny.

The first impression Yugi had got was it looked as if the place was a Christmas village… but the mood around the cottages itself felt rather heavy. Yami predicted that nearly all wizarding communities had changed just because of the dark lord. Even the people who were walking through the village were hunched into groups like sardines in a can, ever trying not to be apart, and never letting their guard down.

To Bakura's disappointment Zonko's Joke Shop had been boarded up. However, he still wanted to meet the so-called thief in the OotP that Yami had told him about. What would be better then having another thief friend? Ryou on the other hand had figured out maybe this outing wasn't as refreshing as he thought it would be. He planned to take his mind of so he could at least have a nice weekend, but from the looks of his surroundings… he regretted coming to Hogsmade.

Malik was annoyed, his yami had locked himself in his soul room (and didn't let Malik in)… but the cold weather was bothering him the most. Even if it did snow when he was in Takazumiryu Magic School he had stayed indoors to escape the cold. Living in such a hot weathered country made him used to getting sunburns… but he'd rather have them then frostbites…

"Th-This p-place s-seems c-c-cold." Malik said as his teeth chattered.

"It used to be a lot more brighter though," Ron said.

"Ron, he's freezing," Hermione corrected.

Ryou looked to Harry, "It's because of the dark lord and his Death Eaters right?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah."

"So Yugi, you said you wanted to pick up a parcel at the Post Office," Ginny changed the subject.

"Really? From who?" Ryou asked.

"I-don't-remember-you-telling-us-you-needed-to-pick-up-a-parcel." Malik said hastily while his teeth were chattering and immediately covered half of his face with his scarf.

"From an old friend," Yugi said cheerfully. –(A parcel from one member of the OotS)- he added in mind link.

The other two Item holders didn't say anything.

"Well… the post office should be the fifth cottage from here. How about we meet you three in the Three Broomsticks in an hour or so?" Hermione said.

"Alright." Yugi agreed.

The party had parted into two and Yugi, Ryou, and Malik headed to the post office…

----------------------------------------------

_Somewhere in the United Kingdom_

_Hogsmade, The Post Office _

_The first week of October_

_That Day… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------------

To Ryou's amusement the place was rather unique because of the amount of owls that were about. He counted at least there had to be about fifty kinds, from small owls that handled tiny packages that sent them in great speed, to even large owls that could lift heavy bulky packages. The thief's eyes twitched as he looked at the number of owls. For some reason when the owls looked at either him or Malik it looked as if the birds 'nodded' in a gesture of saying 'how do you do?' The first thing he thought was maybe Steven had befriended all of them seeing he had the ability to communicate with owls. Malik on the other hand stood at the entrance and didn't have the mood what so ever to explore the post office. His reason… avoid any chances to get hit by bird droppings, and he was certainly right because two minutes later the thief accidentally stepped on owl droppings, which Ryou had to clean the smell on his right shoe by using a wand. Soon Yugi came their way…

Yugi had received a large parcel in his hands that appeared to be a very _thick _looking dictionary.

-(Wear the hologram devices; follow and meet me at a back door.)- The spiky teen said.

Yugi had deliberately went into a crowd of wizards and disappeared.

-((I have a feeling that wasn't a normal OotS package.))- Bakura said.

-(But wouldn't the wizards have checked what's inside?)- Ryou asked.

Malik shook his head, -(One thing for sure, it's concealed somehow without magic.)-

Malik and Ryou followed Yugi at a safe distance still wearing holograms disguises. Malik normally made his way through the crowds of witches and wizards curious on what package Yugi was holding. Why would a book like a dictionary be important? Bakura of course was at a more closer distance following the Pharaoh's twin… he DEFINITELY had to know what was so important about those thick books Yami was getting… considering how many times he got _whacked_ by them, it wasn't really fair those books were only sent by the OotS to be used to be thrown at his head.

Then, Bakura noticed something odd about the bar code on the package as it read…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ps12 15oOsrT9 14noeoh3 20ktce18AoSes15t'Bse4Zsa

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'How peculiar,' Bakura thought. As far as muggles are concerned, bar codes never have letters (only numbers)… let alone this bar code an apostrophe (')… and to conclude it, no bar codes were that long. Soon they all arrived at their destination unseen… the back door of Zonko's Joke shop.

Without warning, Yugi grabbed both Bakura and Malik by their shirt collars and…. _went through a wall…_

----------------------------------------

_Hogsmade, Zonko's Joke Shop _

_Or also known as…OotS Sub-Base #G4X0321 _

_The First Week of October _

_That Day… _

-----------------------------------------

Bakura and Malik were surprised to find where they were…

"Whoa, is this place one of our OotS bases?" the tomb keeper said in disbelief.

"I guess Zonko's wasn't boarded up for nothing," Ryou said as he regained the control of his body.

-((Yo! Pharaoh's hikari, did you just went through a wall?))- The thief pointed.

"Um… yeah… It has a D4 seal wall so we're the only ones that can come in," Yugi said nervously since Bakura's finger was two centimetres in front of him.

Yami soon materialised in spirit form taking Bakura's hand away from the front of Yugi's face, -((It's rude to point Thief, mind your manners.))-

-((Like I got any.))- Bakura stuck his tongue out.

"Ah, looks like you guys found our hideout. How did you find out?"

They looked at Steven smiling proudly at them.

"Got info from this package and the letter attached to it," Yugi said showing to everyone.

Bakura was annoyed, -((May I see what's the clue to finding this place?))-

-(Here's the letter.)- Yami replied handing the parchment to the thief.

-(Ooooh… the King of Thieves is more _politer _and has_ manners_ now…)- Malik mocked.

The tomb keeper could laugh for _only two seconds_. I mean seriously, how can you laugh with a dictionary rammed into your head?

Soon they entered the main room where three other Element Masters were looking at a surveillance screens Ryou had counted there was at least 80 of them watching different locations in Hogwarts and Hogsmade. There were about ten Element masters who were controlling the surveillance devices and in the middle was a large long table full of notes and documents. Yugi, Ryou, and Malik plus Steven took their seats.

Bakura then examined the letter carefully…

---------------

_Letter_

---------------

Dear Yugi,

How is Hogwarts? I bet the weather is cold. By the way, this new Biology dictionary came out two days ago. I thought I'd give you this as an early Christmas present! There's some really nifty information in here! It's complete, from D**_N_**A, mi**_c_**roorga**_n_**isms, bio**_g_**eogra**_p_**hy, h**_u_**m**a**n a**_n_**ato**_m_**y, to even **_c_**loning! Oh yeah, I got a quiz for ya! If you work it out I'll give you something better! Here it is…

_Tons 9 15hotT3 20ikae18sCin15Bon12 14_

A pretty hard quiz eh? Hope you can solve it!

K. E.

-------------------

_End of Letter_

-------------------

-((What the hell do these bold letters in the biology words mean? What's with the quiz?))- Bakura exclaimed.

Malik looked puzzled on how to solve the code, "Is this a way to make sure wizards don't know?"

"Yeah, considering wizards aren't very keen in solving anything that has to do with logic," Steven added.

-((I don't even know what it means, how do you expect to us to read this?))- Bakura pouted.

-((Actually it's quite simple, that's IF you know how to solve it.))- Yami stated.

-(How do you solve it?)- Ryou asked.

Steven took out paper and a pencil and gave them to Ryou. "Okay, first count how many digits are there. Numbers like 12 or 14 count as one digit," He said.

_Tons 9 15hotT 3 20ikae18sCin15Bon12 14_

"There's 27 digits all together," Ryou said.

Malik who was observing from behind Ryou said, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Plenty," Yugi said. "What's the closest squared number to 27?"

-((If it were 5 x 5 then 25 would be the answer, with two left over.))- Bakura simply said.

-((Correct. Now align them in fives vertically with an exception of the first two rows, since they have the two leftovers. Then read the passage vertically, like when you're reading Mandarin.))- Yami instructed.

Ryou aligned the letters carefully then him, his yami, and Malik gaped…

T… o… n… s… 9… 15

h …o … t …T… 3… 20

i … k… a… e… 18…

s… C… i… n… 15

B… o… n…12…14

Which actually reads…

**This Book Contains Ten 12 9 3 18 15 14 20**

"How about the numbers?" Malik asked.

Steven simply replied, "Alphabetical order."

12… 9… 3… 18… 15… 4…15 …14 … 20….

M… I… C… R… O… D… O… T… S… 

-((This book contains ten Microdots?))- Bakura asked. –((Wait, that's how you knew the location of this base right?))-

Yugi nodded.

"How?" Malik baffled.

-((The package bar code is the answer. No bar codes have letters, an apostrophe and are that long in the Muggle world… plus wizards don't even use bar codes.))- Bakura explained.

This time Malik solved the bar code by repeating the same process what Ryou did…

Ps**12** **15**oOsrT9 **14**noeoh3 **20**ktce**18**AoSes**15**t'Bse4Zsa

This code had 38 digits instead, so the codes were to be aligned in sixes with two exceptions and looked like so…

P… s…12… 15… o… O… s…

r … T…9… 14… n… o… e…

o… h …3 … 20… k… t…

c… e…18… A… o… S…

e… s…15… t… '… B…

s… e… 4… Z… s… a…

Which now read (with the numbers already deciphered)…

**Process These Microdots At Zonko's OotS Base… **

"Neat!" Malik smiled.

-((Actually, this method of coding was used in Julius Caesar's time when he ruled the Roman Empire. Usually they were used to pass orders on the battlefield. Sometimes ancient ways are very useful since not many people know of them today.))- Yami said.

-((What about the Microdots?))- Bakura asked.

"That's where we get a little bit into the future," Steven said. "First, we look for the Microdot. The clues of course are the bold letters on the sixth sentence."

'…from D**_N_**A, mi**_c_**ro org**_a_**nisms, bio**_g_**eogra**_p_**hy, h**_u_**m**a**n a**_n_**ato**_m_**y, to even **_c_**loning!'

"Look for DNA in the dictionary," Yugi said. "It should be on the Letter _N_."

Bakura turned the page with the word DNA and found a tiny brown transparent plastic paper on top of the letter N, -((What the hell is this?))-

"It's a photo negative," Steven answered. "_Extra tiny_."

Slowly and carefully, Steven pulled the Microdot with a pair of tweezers and laid it down on a special processing machine. The machine looked as if was a normal thin scanner scanning the tiny space where the negative had been put, and somehow it unbelievingly was now producing what it appeared to be an official document on the screen. As it read…

'DAILY PROPHET REPORTERS' 

-((Kyle's really into the photography business huh?))- Marik said, finally coming out of his soul room.

-((Where have you been dark tomb keeper?))- Bakura asked.

The psycho laughed, -((Avoiding cold weather at any cost.))-

Malik rolled his eyes and only ignored his yami, "By the way… How does Kyle know all this stuff? I mean… Microdots? That isn't a term you usually use everyday."

-((Welcome to the world of Espionage.))- Yami smiled. –((Kyle's our _second_ Head Element Master who currently works in the Daily Prophet. The spread of information these days are somewhat restricted by the Ministry, so Kyle thought about a muggle way of spreading information.))-

"With these tiny negatives? They're good in hiding, but how do you make them?" Ryou asked.

"Simple, first you take a shot on the original documents and process the negatives. Then, position the processed negative about six feet away and take another shot. What you get on your next processed negative is a tiny square spec. Afterwards, cut the square spec out and place the Microdot in whichever concealed place you wish to transfer it in," Yugi explained.

"Do you think it's wise using Microdots in the wizarding world?" Malik asked.

Steven frowned, "It's the most effective way because…as a matter of fact…"

-((What?))- Marik looked to the element master impatiently.

"They were used in World War II by the Allies spies and currently CIA agents still use them today," Steven said. "Plus, they're easy to get rid of if they are intercepted. The book Kyle sent you had an auto-fire spell if the book fell into the wrong hands. So even if the wizards did repair the book after it was burnt, the negatives would already have melted due to the fire."

'The OotS is sure full of nutty creative folk,' Malik thought.

As if Steven read his mind then said, "We need all the creative minds to keep ourselves concealed."

However something then went through Ryou's mind, "Wait, did I hear Kyle is the _second_ Head of the Element Masters?"

"Yes." Yugi said.

-((I never heard about another Head of the Element Masters!))- Bakura said.

"I guess we haven't told you that every branch in the OotS had _two _Masters or leaders," Steven scratched his head.

-((Who are they? It's about time we knew all of our superiors of the OotS.))- Marik stated.

-((The Shadow Casters, as you all know is lead by Minori and I,))- Yami said. –((Seto Kaiba and Dimitri Vladimir, a Russian magic school headmaster who's currently spying as a muggle CEO are the head of the Illusionists. As for the Element Masters, Sieg Innes Sinistra who's spying as a Hogwarts teacher and Kyle Evans who apparently works for the Daily Prophet. Last but not least; the Soul Summoners are headed by Professor Ryu the Headmaster of Takazumiryu Magic school and Jade L'Archel the second person who's leading Gringotts Bank.))

-((We sure got a LOT of links))- Marik commented still surprised of the new names he heard.

Bakura nodded in agreement, -((It's the least we can do to spy on everyone in the wizarding world.))-

-(Aren't we overdoing it? I mean… there's a lot of wizard folk who know.)- Ryou said.

Yugi shook his head, -((Dirk Cresswell who's Head of the Goblin Liaison Office is a member of the OotS. Though she's been said to be a muggle, she's actually a Soul Summoner. Many of our members are considered as muggles by normal wizards even if they're originally D4 wizards, so it's a full proof plan in spying.))-

-((So, can you fill us in what's been going on in the Order?))- Malik asked the element master.

"Sure, I'll fill you in," Steven said and started giving them the news on the OotS…

----------------------------------------------

_Somewhere in the United Kingdom_

_Hogsmade, The Three Broomsticks _

_The first week of October_

_An hour later… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------------

Yugi, Ryou and Malik had come into the bar just in time to find Harry was rather in a bad mood. Ron seemed to be trying to catch an eye one of the barmaids named Madam Rosemerta. Only Hermione welcomed them warmly to sit beside them.

"We ordered you some Butterbeers," Hermione said.

The Egyptian took his seat, "Thanks, er… what's a matter with Harry?"

"You remembered about the place of the OotP headquarters Harry told you about?" She said in a low whisper. "Mundungus-"

"Stole his stuff." Harry bitterly said.

"Mundungus who?" Ryou said who now sounded rather interested and had a grin too wide on his face.

Yugi sweat dropped. -(Bakura's in control.)-

-((He's very eager to get more partners in crime.))- Yami commented.

Ryou sighed, -(Weren't _you_ the one who mentioned about Mundungus?)-

"How does he work?" Bakura asked.

"OUCH!"

Malik kicked the thief from under the table, he looked unhappy with the thief's behaviour… if things kept going on like this, their cover most likely been blown.

"Don't mind him, just ignore him," Malik simply said.

The three non-transfers blinked comically.

"Where's Ginny?" Ryou finally took back in control.

Ron shifted his gaze to the white-haired teen, "She said she wanted to meet Dean at Madam Puddifoot's teashop. She's been hanging out with a lot of guys lately."

"Madam Puddifoot's teashop?" Malik repeated.

"A haunting for happy couples." Harry said.

"So, what did you get from the post office?" Ron asked finally taking his eyes off the barmaid.

"New dictionary," Yugi chirped as he showed the book titled _'Oxford Biology Dictionary: the Seventh edition'_.

"Why on earth would you want muggle subject dictionaries when you're going to a wizarding school?" Ron pointed at the book disgusted.

"Well, I don't think anyone like you Ron would realize books are worth reading for knowledge," Hermione said sternly.

"Hey! I do read books… but not _friggin huge monstrous _dictionaries like you two," he pouted.

Harry chuckled, "At least someone knows how you feel about books Hermione."

"I thought the trip here was worthwhile but it seems I only managed to pick a packet. I guess we don't anywhere else to go." Yugi said.

The moment Harry drained the last drops in his bottle Hermione said, "Shall we call it a day and go back to school, then?"

"As long it's a place where it's not freezing," Malik said. "Even if it means going to a desert."

They six Hogwarts students drew their clock tightly around them, rearranged their scarves, and pulled on their gloves; then followed Katie Bell and a friend out of the pub and back up the High Street. So far the walk had been uneventful, the only things they could hear around them were breathing and the gust of the winter wind.

Yugi halted, which led Ryou and Malik crashing into him.

"Oomph, Yugi, why did you stop?" Malik snorted.

"Sorry, I just felt a unnerving presence," The spiky teen said.

"Next time warn us first," Ryou said picking himself up from the snowy ground.

Then there was screaming… the three gaped at Katie Bell who was at least six feet in the air.

"What on Ra is going on?" Malik exclaimed.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and another girl were trying to keep Katie from flying off.

"Hurry, we got to help them!" Ryou urged. "First things first, get Katie to the ground!"

Yugi immediately dashed towards Katie's left leg, while Malik took the left… Ryou unbelievably took a little run from a distance, jumped, and grabbed Katie's waist. Thanks to the three's fast reaction Harry was glad now Katie was on the ground, however, she was still thrashing and screaming. Yugi, Malik, and Ryou were putting a lot of effort trying to pin her down. Harry looked around; the place seemed deserted.

"We need help. If we don't-" Hermione said.

"Stay here, I'm going for help!" Harry shouted.

"Harry, don't _go alone_!" Malik warned.

Harry looked to the Egyptian. It was true the situation was an emergency, but what if this had something to do with the Death Eaters? Going alone didn't sound wise, it sounded reckless. "Alright, Ron, come with me. We need to find someone." Harry said. The two boys then darted off into a sprint.

"The place is deserted! What if we don't find anyone in time?" the girl named Leanne sobbed.

Yugi looked to her, "Go and search. We'll take care of her as long as you're not going alone."

Leanne looked to Hermione. The brainy girl nodded. Both of the girls went into the other direction.

"Yugi, she's not doing very well; her soul is weakening," Ryou said holding the cursed girl to the ground.

"You know?" Malik asked.

Ryou answered quickly, "Soul Summoner abilities. If things keep going on she'll die."

"Dammit, where's everyone when you need them?" Malik grumbled.

-((Abiou, may I suggest a healing spell?))- Yami offered.

-(Anything!)- Yugi insisted.

Yami took over, -((We'll need a bit more strength for this curse, at least until help arrives. Thief, Psycho, come out. We'll need to hold her with a bit more strength.))-

-((Hurry up Pharaoh, she's losing it.))- Marik said.

Both Yami and Yugi focused on Yugi's hand that was over Katie's forehead.

'_Clearance!'_ (Light Magic)

To Bakura's surprise Katie started to thrash harder, but her soul was recovering even it meant by the slightest. However the curse seemed to have bested the odds and sent Yami flying 4 feet back.

"Gah! I guess shouldn't have done that," Yami said panting as he held his injured left hand.

"What did you do?" Malik asked.

"Status healing spell, the curse backfired. At least she'll stay alive another 10 minutes." The pharaoh said.

Soon the four other Hogwarts students arrived with Hagrid. Quickly, Hagrid scooped Katie up and he ran off towards the castle with the girl in his arms still screaming. Yami had quickly hid his injury from the four by pocketing his hand. As soon as they arrived inside Hogwarts they had met up with Professor McGonagall, which followed to an interview of what had happened in her office. The three transfers dismissed themselves with Leanne. Malik parted with them first and said he wanted to go to the library, though in reality Ryou and Yugi knew he was eavesdropping on McGonagall. Ryou then parted as well he said he would join Malik. Yugi was left with Leanne alone in the corridor.

"Um, Yugi. You mind coming with me to the Hospital Wing?" Leanne asked.

"I… err,"

"You could get your left hand healed as well," the girl added.

"How did you-"

"I guess you didn't want to tell. I don't know what you did, but I'm really thankful you managed to help Katie stay alive in some way. I promise I won't tell Harry or anyone else."

"You're welcome and uh… Thanks." Yugi said sheepishly.

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Main Hall_

_Beginning of October_

_Breakfast (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------------

Yugi, Ryou, and Malik were so far doing well in spying for the OotS. Though, working for the OotS certainly had its drawbacks when it came to concealing their true identities. The fact that the three transfer students were members of a secret organization made it crucial that not a single soul knew…Katie's state of being cursed by a necklace had spread around the school quickly and people indeed were suspicious, things have been heated up again in Hogwarts…. especially, when there was more news of people being killed to even news of Death Eaters being attacked with their memories erased. Deciding to take any further action took more time, for as the members of the OotP had their eyes watching Yugi and co.

It was a risk Yugi, Ryou, and Malik had to take in joining Dumbledore's Order to know about the Order of the Phoenix, but on the downside it limited their movements in Hogwarts. At least it didn't limit them contacting with the OotS… Well, as long they covered their investigation wok by using Muggle technology or methods, there wasn't really a threat. HOWEVER… It didn't mean the transfer students couldn't escape their true identities as the best duellists in the world, which quite frankly _slipped_ through the Weasly Twins' Duel Monsters magazine that very morning…

Breakfast of course seemed normal, everyone just waking up and going to his or her house tables, eating breakfast, drinking coffee or milk or tea, reading the Daily Prophet for up to date news… looked normal…didn't it? For some unnerving reason the three duellists had woken up early, and clearly by now had finished their breakfast and were sipping their hot drinks.

-((Why do I feel uneasy?))- Yami said.

-((Pharaoh, you're not the only one.))- Bakura snapped.

Marik looked to the two, -((I have a bad feeling about this morning.))-

Certainly they weren't wrong at all. _Their nightmare had just been confirmed…_

"Yugi, Malik, Ryou! Guess what? The top world duellists are announced today!" Ron declared.

The hikaris gagged their drinks, Yugi was coughing up his tea, Ryou accidentally spilled a glass of water, and Malik spurted out his coffee.

"Surprising isn't it? My brother's said their DM magazines are coming soon!" Ron said.

Dean joined in, "I heard there's going to be new cards coming in, rare ones too!"

The three had stood up and made their way going to the entrance.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going see who they are?" Hermione asked.

Swiftly Yugi said, "We're gonna get our books for transfiguration, you can tell us in class."

-((You don't need to be told Yugi, you _are_ the world champion.))- Yami chuckled.

Yugi mentally rolled his eyes at his darker half's comment.

As quickly as they could they left the scene…

"What's with them?" Harry asked.

"Dunno, beats me." Ron said.

"Well according to the last edition of DM Wizarding magazine I heard the top world duellists have strategic minds that can be in level with muggle military." Hermione said.

"Are they that smart?" Harry frowned.

Hermione shook her head, "Not smart, but geniuses. DM isn't an ordinary card game, those who succeed in winning are those who are willing to take risks and take on whatever the opponent throws at them."

"The world champion hasn't even lost a single duel in tournaments before. It is said that the undefeated world champion is about our age!" Dean said.

Harry who only heard rumours from his two friends only looked at them, "Really? That's quite a feat!"

Then the hall burst with owls dropping the new edition of the Weasly's DM Magazine.

Ron, who got his copy first, made a grab for it and flicked to the last pages that had the info.

'_NO WAY!'_ the red head shouted.

Harry and Hermione looked at Ron rather embarrassed at the volume of his voice, but soon more people were acting the same way.

"Ron? What's the matter?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

Ron smacked the magazine in front of them.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Hermione stuttered.

Harry couldn't believe his eyes… The two pages had a description of two Elite Duellists…

Or their classmates… _Ryou Bakura_ and _Malik Ishtar_.

However no one had flicked to the last page… like Seamus…

"Ron, YOU GOT TO LOOK AT WHO'S THE WORLD CHAMPION!" Seamus shouted.

This time Harry flicked the magazine and gaped at a certain spiky teen… indeed the World Champion was… _Yugi Mutou…_

The hall immediately burst in gossips, and people were trying to exchange _any_ information about the new students.

Harry sweat dropped, maybe that was the reason why they left the hall, since now a number of first and second years were intent on finding them have went out the Great Hall. To his pleasure Malfoy's face turned into a shade of blue, so… Malfoy indeed had duelled with an Elite Duellist… and _lost_…per se… On the downside Colin Creevy ran after the first and second years in hopes to get their picture. Harry chuckled, it reminded him of his fourth year.

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, One of the Castle Corridors_

_Mid-September_

_Breakfast (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------------

Yugi, Malik and Ryou were walking hastily to McGonagall's classroom when suddenly… _a stampede was felt shaking the floor…_

Yami looked at Yugi sympathetically was hovering beside his light. Yet Yugi only smiled and looked at the other hikaris. Then Yami noticed something odd about Yugi's smile… it wasn't a normal smile… it was a _mischievous grin…_

-((Yugi, what-))-

Yami felt a jolt and abruptly he was the one in Yugi's body. It wasn't the first time Yugi had done this; when Yugi set him up with Tea, Yami couldn't get inside the puzzle… but what made it more surprising… Bakura and Malik were locked out of their items too…

"What the hell happened?" Marik said.

Bakura seemed to be in the same confused situation.

"Seems our hikaris have learnt a way to get us out of our items." Yami sighed. "I bet they've been planning this since last week."

The three darker halves had large sweat drops on their heads…

Bakura sweat dropped because he was the one who taught Ryou about controlling souls in an encased item… he better be careful next time about soul lessons…

Marik sweat dropped figuring his hikari was getting his revenge for the Hogsmade visit…

Yami on the other hand sweat dropped thinking maybe he was giving a bad influence on Yugi…

A mob of students was coming in… most were female and very frantic ones if you know what I mean…Marik ran the other way… and the Thief and Pharaoh followed…

"Just WONDERFUL! Our hikaris have gone against us!" Malik panted.

"They are our twins…" Yami said while he ran.

"They might turn into us!" Bakura smiled.

"Tomb Keeper what are you thinking at a time like this!" Malik shouted. "Pharaoh, I thought your hikari was a goody-goody!"

Apparently there was no reply…

Malik looked back. _The Thief and the Pharaoh had disappeared into thin air…_

'Aw nuts…' Malik thought. The mob was now at least three meters behind him. Marik then screamed in ancient Egyptian, "I SWEAR I'M GOING TO GET YOU GUYS FOR THIS!"

In a deserted corridor, just hovering invisibly were Bakura in soul form and Yami in a wind form.

-((Is he _that_ daft?))- Bakura asked.

-((It's a good thing being a Balancer.))- Yami said.

-((A what?))-

-((The original name for D4 wizards. I wonder why Marik couldn't just use his shadow form to escape.))-

-((He has a habit to panic too fast, not a good thing. I wish I were back at the Order then getting chased by frantic fans.))-

-((Still, I prefer we're here. At least we can have a little bit of fun with the Slytherins.))- Yami grinned.

-((I wonder what the others are up to. So, Pharaoh, aren't we heading to Transfiguration Class?))-

-((Since when did you care about classes Thief?))-

-((Since Ryou used something I told him against me.))- Bakura admitted.

Yami laughed, -((Well, might as well not be late.))-

-((Our mission is getting crazier by the day… now we got frantic fans chasing us… If life were that simple…))- Bakura sighed.

-((If life were that simple I don't think we would be having this conversation hovering in the air and we wouldn't be part of the OotS in the first place.))-

-((You're saying…))-

-((There is no form of genius without some element of madness. Bakura my friend, be as abnormal as you want, as long as it goes by the rules and it works out. If you were at the Order right now, you'd probably be doing paper work. Yet things have gone darker lately, I'm just glad we learnt on how to escape frantic fans from Professor Ryou.))-

-((You're the man! It's nice to have you going all dark again. I appreciate doing non-paperwork. Now… what were we learning from McGonagall?))-

-((Changing dragon statues to lizards…))- Yami pointed out.

-((I think I have a plan in mind... Mind if you join me? You know praking Slytherins...))- Bakura grinned.

-((Don't ask, _I will._))- Yami smirked.

And so the Thief and Pharaoh went towards their first class, unfortunately Marik was not as lucky; he hadn't lost the mob or even figured to use other ways… one thing is true… not all people are mad enough to become geniuses…

TO BE CONTINUED…

-------------------------------------------

Woohoo! That's a lot… to take in… again sorry for the late update.

The Mysterious leader of the OotS, Foin Etesian… who exactly is he?

Marik IS Malik's twin brother!

A bit of espionage stuff…

True Identities equals to trouble…

The hikaris went against their yamis!

Credits for interpreting the Codes is from Dan Brown book called 'Deception Code'. As for the Microdots (yes in reality microdots are used by the CIA!) credits to the site of the International Spy Museum in Washington DC. I do NOT own those things, so don't sue. So… what do you think? Good, Bad or got opinion on your own? Please don't hesitate to drop a review!

Next on HP, HBP, and the OotS… 

We get to know more about the other Masters of the OotS…

Other YGO characters coming in…

_**Chapter 12: 'The Society of Order of the Shadows' **_

**Note:** This chapter will cover the unknown members of the Order and other YGO characters playing their role in the OotS…


	12. Chpt 12: The Society of the OotS Part 1

Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows 

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be representatives of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any thing of YGO and HP in this fic (or food/drink merchandise or anything that are commonly known)...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J.K.Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

**I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:**

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book or any HP book _-text-_

Upcoming paragraph (s) to do with emails, articles or flashbacks _Text_

Writing _Xx … Text … xX_

Status of Duel Monster: (No. Of Stars or Level /ATK/DEF)

Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

**AU Note:**

Sorry for the long wait! April and May weren't the best of months (considering the amount of assignments and I had end of year exams) I couldn't really focus on my fic because of those and only visit once in a while if I had the time. But FINALLY I updated! As I said… long time no update equals to longer chapter… so for this chapter we got…. Behold…Another 14,000 WORDS! Hahaha… (And No AU notes included!) At least the holidays are now back! Yay! It took a lot of effort to put this chapter all together, so hope you like how it turned out!

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR GETTING ME OVER 100 REVIEWS!

Well you'd probably be interested about the fate of our threesome duellists in Hogwarts…

Seto Kaiba is in this chapter folks! My treat for Seto fans due to updating this late!

Enjoy!

_**Chapter 13: 'The Society of Order of the Shadows.' (Part 1)**_

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_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Main Hall_

_Beginning of October_

_One rather noisy morning… (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------------

That very eventful morning the halls of Hogwarts were filled with gossips about the three transfer students who had arrived that year. This time of course people weren't talking how weird they looked, rather they were trying to figure out how did they became world renowned duellists and were they really the same people who were in the Weasly's DM magazine? Those questions of course were only in the minds of the thirds years and up who certainly had experienced Hogwarts change because of Harry Potter… but having celebrities coming to their school seemed too good to be true. The second-years and the first years didn't even think twice about they could look alike and started to search for the three transfers.

Harry and Ron decided to go ahead to transfiguration to check if the transfers were there, and if lucky, ask them first about them being the so-called world top duellists and in Yugi's case… the undefeated world champion.

Hermione on the other hand thought it was quite logical. High grades, talented in the Darks Arts and what had made Hermione sure they weren't normal transfers was how they handed situations fairly well planned… or more precisely with deadly accuracy. It was in their first DADA lesson they had not only to confront a teacher but also an ex-Death Eater with no problem what so ever. Yugi had confronted and even defeated Snape with confidence, as though he knew the strength of his opponent. Ryou and Malik on the other hand answered questions in a careful manner, either never giving an answer to Snape too short or exceedingly long... precise and simple…

Hermione sighed as she walked to through the corridors. Well, it seemed to be another long year for them (Harry and co.), but it didn't mean they couldn't look for other interesting information… This very intelligent girl of course had not stopped at all to search about the D4 wizards since Snape had mentioned it in class. Even when she asked the other Gryffindor girls in her dorm, none of them actually gave her a clear answer on what were actually D4 wizards are and how they became to be. In the end they would always ended the conversation of saying on the lines, 'To speak about D4 wizards is taboo'. She had figured that maybe she could asked Yugi, Ryou and Malik that very day… yet due to the DM magazine, Hermione thought it wasn't really possible to get in contact with the Japanese students since they'd be chased down by their fans.

Given that there were at least 15 minutes left to go to Transfiguration, Hermione decided to go to the library to check whether the librarian would have found any book that could be related to the D4 wizards.

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Library_

_Beginning of October_

_Morning… (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------------

Just as she walked into the library Madam Pince immediately called Hermione over.

"Ah, miss Granger, I think I have found the book you've been looking for. Here it is. I think you searched the wrong name by mistake, the book is very old so take care of it well." The librarian handed a battered book to Hermione.

"Thank you." The girl replied.

Hermione took the battered old book with her to the farthest table from anyone. She had at most five minutes to check the first pages of its contents, and flipped to the first page. To her surprise, the title wasn't the D4 wizards after all… but 'The Balancers'.

'So that what's Madam Pince meant, the D4 wizards long ago were called the Balancers!' she thought excitedly.

However just as her excitement was starting to wash over her, when she tried to open the book the pages were stuck. It was as if all the pages were stuck together with an adhesive for metal. Hermione tried to pull to the next page… it didn't even budged.

"Why won't you open?" Hermione muttered to no one in particular. Just when she finally got the information, the book was going against her. Then something odd happened… the empty front page suddenly letters appeared with an amazing ink of colours. The words would turn into a different colour now and then, as though it were enchanted to show the colours of the elements.

Xx …_ Do you mind? It hurts when you pull me like that. _…xX

Hermione raised an eyebrow and all of a sudden had her suspicions high, it wasn't the first time she knew about books that had a mind of its own. In her second year it had a soul of the Dark Lord, but how can a book feel it own pages? It was already bothersome enough to know the Half-Prince's book was annoying her immensely in Potions… Could this book be considered safe? She hesitantly looked at the book in front of her, and immediately wrote back with her quill.

'…Do you have any relations to the Dark Lord? …'

The feedback was instant, scratchy, and the writing somehow portrayed the book's feelings as though it were annoyed why the girl had brought that subject immediately.

Xx … _Yeesh, don't even think I want to have any relations with the heir of Salazar Slytherin at all! Voldy-morty has continued the stupid tradition…Lousy ideas of being 'pureblood'… humph… so what is it that you want? Just because I'm a book with a conscience doesn't mean you have to tag me as an outlawed object! Bah… wizards these days… Do you always think everything that SOUNDS dark, IS evil? Frankly, I'm not on their side. Got it memorized? …_ xX

It suddenly struck Hermione how unusual the book was. Unlike other books that were maybe proud to show off the pride of wizards, this one was literally pissed off of the ideas of all wizards should be pureblood and incredibly taunted the Dark Lord's name. If indeed the book was very old, why on earth did the book was so angry with Salazar Slytherin? Then the girl replied…

'… Sorry, I know a diary that nearly killed my friend's sister in my second year. I just wanted to know if you knew anything about D4 wizards…'

This time the words appear more slowly…

Xx … _I see, trust is such a fickle thing. By the way, we are originally were called 'Balancers' before we were exiled; please refer to that than 'D4 wizards'. The Ministry branded us that name, which isn't really our identity. How about your name? On the other hand are you a pureblood, half or a muggle?_ … xX

Hermione scribbled her quill quickly, '…Hermione Granger, I'm a Muggle-born, why do you ask? 'We' were exiled? Are you by any chance… a Balancer? …'

Now the letters were fluid and tidy as though the book regained its true kinder personality…

Xx _… Nice to meet you Hermione Granger, the name's Axel. It's been a while one of my own kind opened me. Balancer? I am and still one…even though I am sealed inside this book…_ xX

'… Are you a muggle born too? Why were you sealed? …'

Xx … _Why yes, Balancers are a 'mixed race' by muggle terms. Some are pureblood, half, and muggle born... call it a cocktail mix if you want. I have my own reasons I will not tell you right now why I'm sealed. Kind of the hush, hush stuff… I wish to gain your trust first in the meantime, in return of course I can tell you what there is you want to know about us Balancers_ … xX

Hermione was stunned when Axel mention he himself was a muggle. Technically Axel would the same as her, yet instead he was a D4 wizard. All along she had thought the D4 wizards or in this case the Balancers were no better than the Purebloods like Malfoy who detested muggle born wizards and in turn calling them 'mud bloods'. 'Maybe if I try to help Axel, I might know more what happened to the D4 wizards and also…' She stopped and thought, 'I could ask his help if he knows anything on how to defeat Voldemort…'

Without further or do she wrote her reply.

'… I wish to gain your trust as well. Are you the only Balancer left? I heard they are all but extinct right now …'

Xx … _Really? I guess times have changed, I don't know for sure myself. I've been sealed in this book for too long, I do not even know the existence of any other Balancers around here in Hogwarts …_ xX

'… That's a shame, but what really happened to your race those centuries ago?…'

Xx _… Talk about BLANK with a capital 'B'…Your Ministry of course covered the truth, I don't you are not ready to accept for what had truly happened. So… How about I tell you something about that past and generally & who we were? Read carefully…_ xX

This time Hermione waited patiently but then gaped as the book told it's story…

---------------------------

--------------------------------------------------

"Upon this Earth, We are the Balancers,

We never truly sided with neither black nor white, for we were Grey.

We never truly sided with neither good nor evil, for we were Neutral.

We never truly sided with neither magic nor non-magic folk, for we were the Mixture of both races.

We never chose sides, for we protected the world's existence."

Together us Balancers were from the Four Scared Clans,

The Alter-Matters controlled the balance of Change.

The Element Masters controlled the balance of Nature's Elements.

The Soul Summoners controlled the balance of what is Life and Death.

The Shadow Casters controlled the balance in realms of both Light and Darkness.

Yet from the Four Scared Clans there shall be the Divine Ones,

Worthy of controlling more then one balancing realm,

Some who will live short lives never to be seen again,

Others who may live again from the past to the future,

And few who will live eternally ever watching the changing world.

We are the Balancers that connected everything,

But our bond is weakening.

The magic folk have gone against us,

Selfishly claiming the world is theirs alone.

They are blinded by the idea of purity.

The Courage we had found was so easily lost by Fear,

The Love we had connected was so easily shattered by Hate,

The Hope we had built was so easily destroyed by Despair,

Only Desire drives them into madness.

And yet this is how the world will reside…

If we were the Rain,

Could we connect people's hearts?

As the Rain can unite

The Eternally separated Earth and Sky?

--------------------------------------------------

---------------------------

Hermione's attention was snapped back into reality when the library was emptying for the first class of the day. She cursed herself for taking so much time on the book. Maybe this time a book like this could be trusted, the Ministry of Magic had its secrets and somehow the Balancers had been the victims of the Ministry's dirty work. There was one thing for sure in Hermione's head she knew what she had to do… tell Harry and Ron as soon as she can about this new founding.

-------------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_The Central Daily Prophet Office_

_Beginning of October_

_Morning… (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------------

A very sleepy young looking man yawned as he looked to his office window wondering how on earth he would at least stay up for the whole day. Different from the other wizards in the news agency he preferred wearing blue jeans, a black Billabong with a white logo t-shirt, and a jeans jacket. You could say he was very _muggle-ish_ compared to the others that worked in the agency. He had his long hazel hair tied and his light blue eyes looked hazy due to lack of sleep.

Kyle Evans sighed as he looked at the amount of paperwork that was mounted on his desk with a feeling he wanted to puke and immediately banged his head on the desk. The 1-meter paper work looked as though it was there just at mocking him. Well… that was a risk to anyone who was an editor. However, ever since the Death Eaters made more appearances and killings… Kyle had to admit his job that was previously specified to _only_ edit the sports section soon changed to the politics section or actually… it was more of the whole newspaper these days. Not the he wanted it in the first place, but the sports section everyday was starting to diminish to the overwhelming news of people getting killed and warnings that had been sent out to the Ministry.

He was like any other D4 wizard who had a double life; he just wanted to enjoy his life without being called a 'terribly dangerous wizard that supposed to be extinct'. Kyle had a great admiration for sports and got a job that he liked. Nevertheless, history had a bitchy character of repeating itself. Just when everything finally settled down… you got more problems to deal with.

"Yo! Kyle!" as voice shouted from the door.

"What?" he said weakly sliding his desk to the side looking at his office door that seemed to be filled with people waiting there for him.

The burst in and everyone came in saying, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Kyle only stared at them with a comical face, "It's my birthday? I'm not dreaming am I Rachel?"

"Of course it is! Don't you remember your own birthday?" Rachel said.

Kyle only looked at his secretary in confusion. Considering he was immortal and he knew what his real birth date was, he had to disguise himself from his real identity, which at times made him forget what his new birth date was…

"You've been working overtime again haven't you?" Barnabas Cuffe said looking rather sympathetic at the amount paperwork he had to finish. "Why don't you take some time off, it'll be good for you."

"Time off my ass! Ever since the dark lord's Death Eaters went on a rampage the sports section is cut by half every week! How do you think I'm supposed to mingle with politics when I'm the sports section editor?" Kyle blurted out.

The main editor of the Daily Prophet sighed, "Well, its both exiting and hard work to edit the news. But really, you need the rest. What better day then your birthday?"

Then a small girl came in, "Kyle-san! I got you a wet towel to wash your face, it'll make you fresh!"

"Thanks Yuri," Kyle said and wiped his face feeling refreshed again. "I guess I could use the rest Barnabas."

"You have a tendency to change your mind quickly, don't you Kyle?" the main editor mocked.

"If Yuri and Tea get the day off as well," Kyle added.

Barnabas sighed, "Fine, I guess those two can get the day off as well. They're both your employees and have been working a lot lately; I think it's fair they get the rest too."

"You're a real pal."

"You better get out of those office doors before I change my mind", Barnabas threatened cheerfully with a smirk.

Kyle quickly stood up, "On my way sir! Yuri, please get Tea. I'll meet you outside, we're going for a drive."

-------------------------------------------

_London, United Kingdom_

_Pizza Hut Restaurant_

_Beginning of October_

_Morning… (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------------

Causally, Kyle ate his pepperoni pizza with delight and satisfaction... in a very err… _carnivorous_ manner… like a lion that hadn't eaten in days. The girls of course only looked at him with sympathy.

"Working too much does kill you," Tea commented.

"Stress does affect people in odd ways," Yuri added.

-((Mind you, Kyle is immortal and stress is very much apart of him.))- Septi said a matter-of-factly.

Since it was Kyle's 'birthday', they decided to celebrate breakfast at a restaurant. To Septi's gladness a hologram device covered the scene that was unfolding them. As the member of the OotS, you can't live without one…

"Eat wfal ou cn laffies. (Eat while you can ladies.)," the second head of the Element Masters said still eating at the same time.

Tea sweat dropped, "I think I'll go for a walk somewhere, just to get my mind off."

Kyle looked confused, "What did I do?" Without thinking he went back eating the pizza.

'Made the pizza look totally gross,' Yuri thought.

-((You want to switch Yuri?))- Septi asked.

-(Ugh…Yes, I just hope he doesn't vomit later. It's okay with you?)-

This time Septi took over Yuri's body and took a slice of her own and said, "So, what does it feel like celebrating a birthday that is not your own?"

Kyle slowed down and stopped, "Why the sudden question?"

"Just curious, I've slept far too long not knowing what happened to the world and I've been in the Millennium Scales ever since."

Kyle shifted his attention to the black pony tailed girl, at times he wondered if the blond streaks in her hair were natural… though one would wonder how Yugi's hair had three colours instead and he said _all_ of that was natural. Kyle took another bite of his pizza slowly and said, "I'm wishing I was back in my time where celebrations like birthdays were celebrated with singing and tale of folklore in a family gathering. In other words at times I fell obsessed in trying to find the roots of my descendants or actually travel back in time"

"You have all the time in the world," Septi said.

"Yet with all that time, it's hard deciding what to do next," Kyle admitted.

"So, what I heard from Atemu is true. You're one of the Divine ones that are labelled to be the _'eternal ones'_."

Kyle sighed and scratched his head, "Yeah, ironic how those who wish for a longer life die and those who don't live _far longer_. I'm glad I didn't turn into a ghost though, I'd be white and won't be able to eat, and I don't think I'll have a good sense of music anymore," he joked.

"Hmm, that's true. I can't imagine all that stuff either. Immortality does have rules, huh?"

"You and Atemu are no different. Though, you'd be the ones who have a second chance in living in the mortal realm."

Septi only nodded mind absently.

"How about you? How's the long sleep?" Kyle asked back.

"It's better then going with too much painful memories… but getting your previous memories in Ancient Egypt nearly wiped out can cause problems." Septi said.

"True, I met so many people. They come and leave and it's odd… in the end I always stay here. It's as though I feel like-"

"You're left behind." Septi finished. "Even I feel that way at times."

"But you still have an attachment to this world."

"For my hikari, I guess it may be less then a century." Septi stated. "If you had a wish that could be granted right now, what would that be?"

Kyle looked towards the girl. They were both immortal in their own ways, nevertheless he respected the fact she knew what he wanted. Accordingly he replied, "Eternal rest_. Nothing more."_

"That bad?"

"When my business in this world is finished." He added.

Septi only looked to Kyle oddly wondering what he meant.

Kyle only smiled at her, "Nothing is truly immortal. Even in the end, those who live on will want to rest. The pizza's getting cold, eat up lass."

"Using old dialect Kyle son of one-of-the-royal family line of Wessex?" Septi mocked.

Kyle laughed, "Oi! I do not belong to thy royal line anymore, I was exiled."

Septi only raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"My mother's a Balancer or witch in their terms, shortly after my mother married and my 'royal' grandparents actually sent an order to kill my mother. However my father saved my mother and told her to hide. Even though they were separated, they still kept in touch and love each other." The editor explained.

"Have you met your father?"

Kyle added briefly, "Once."

"_Once?"_

Kyle remembered and told her, "Never got to meet him the second time, the Normans from Normandy (now it would be France) took over Wessex and killed him with the other royals in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings."

"Reality is painful, I guess it affects everyone in different ways. No wonder many people are always on the line of finding the so-called _truth_ of why do we exist." Septi said sarcastically.

"The reason being, they don't realize the truth is right in front of them.If you asked any of the other eternal ones about life, they would say the same answer about_ 'the truth' _of it. " Kyle said as he sipped his Coke can.

"Considering you lived and been around for centuries, you should know." Septi indicated.

Kyle laughed.

"What's so funny? Come on, you could at least give some description." She said annoyed the fact the man was toying with her.

"All right, I'll give it to you in… 13 words."

Septi's eye twitched, "A bit short for the description about the truth of life itself…"

"That's my point."

"What?"'

"In every older person is a younger person wondering what the heck happened. That of course is the truth_…in 13 words._" He added.

At first she only stared at the element master oddly but then she broke into a laugh herself, "So the question is left unanswered."

Kyle mischievously grinned, "Well… _indirectly._ In the end no matter how old we are, at times we might never know the truth."

"Some questions are best to be left unanswered I take it?" Septi asked.

"Aye, lass."

She pouted, "Stop calling me that, I feel old."

"You are 5000 years old, that's VERY old by the way." Kyle added with a grin. "You got any conclusions about what you've been feeling so far?"

Septi ignored the first comment, "Yeah, and I'll describe life in three words_… it… goes… on…_"

"I'll take that one as a yes." Kyle commented.

"I guess being a Master for the Order and an editor at the same time really does you good."

"At times I envy your beloved of being a Master and yet he has fun with his espionage work." He said with a grin. "The others are far too busy in their own work…"

"Atemu along with the thief and psycho will most likely be chased by crazed fans right now," Septi corrected. "You did put a report in the Daily Prophet and you were _the one_ who gave the information to the Weasly Twins' DM magazine." She said sternly.

"Whoa, lady, take it easy! I had to!"

Septi eyes went sharper that somehow sent chills through Kyle, "By what means of reasoning?"

"Uh…Föin's orders." Kyle said quickly. 'So…it's a wonder why Septi looks like Atemu. Soul mates are meant to look like each other.' Kyle thought.

Septi sweat dropped, "What is our leader thinking?"

Kyle's eye twitched, "You're asking me?"

"I'd thought you would know!"

"Despite I've lived nearly a for a thousand years… Sorry, no idea."

"Now I feel sorry for Föin… Atemu, the Psycho and the Thief won't be happy with him if they get a chance to meet."

This time, Kyle's face looked confused.

"Trust me, the Shadows won't be happy either since he's responsible of getting their three main masters into jeopardy. I'm betting there will be plenty shadow monsters on Föin."

Kyle sweat dropped, "Our leader is insane."

Indeed Kyle was correct for Tea arrived in quickly from the door…

"Kyle, there's a message!" Tea handed over an envelope.

Kyle studied the envelope. It was jet black and the envelope frame with words _'The Order of the_ _Shadows Needs Your Attendance'_ was in gold, the only thing it meant was…

"A Master's meeting so soon? Sounds serious." Septi said.

Kyle sighed, "Nah, sounds like suicide. Atemu and the two dudes will get Föin's neck for sure."

"I wonder how will Yugi, Ryou and Malik get out of school for this one?" Tea wondered.

Kyle said simply, "Our leader is an insane person. He'll figure out some bizarre ways to get them to the meeting. Trust me."

Septi and Tea sweat dropped wondering… 'How much bizarre could their leader get?'

"He's done a lot of crazy things in the past, that's one thing for sure. And-"

'_THWACK!'_

A DM magazine had flown into Kyle's face sending his face on the pizza…

'Ugh…' Tea thought disgusted. Her face was starting to turn green and immediately turned the other way to lose sight of the incident.

Septi looked at rather frustrated duellist who didn't look too well and it seem a part of his jacket had torn off. "What happen to you?"

"British fan-_doom_ problem," Joey growled. "No thanks to this dude not only posted it in the DM Magic world magazine, but also sold the information to the London Times!" the bad tempered teen pointed at the editor said.

Tristan who was next to him looked exhausted as though he had done a 10km marathon, "I don't think… we're safe… walking freely… on the streets… both in the muggle… and wizarding world…"

Kyle was now wiping his face and trying to get the cheese and tomato sauce off looked at them with a pale face.

Septi, Joey, Tristan, and Tea sent their own death glares to the second head of the Element Masters.

"Uh… Föin's orders?" Kyle squeaked.

Joey tapped his foot impatiently.

"Well?" Tristan asked irritably.

Kyle sweat dropped. Maybe they should know…. Of course… Shadow Casters are pretty creepy when they're angry… not to mention if they did a Shadow Game…he wouldn't even want to imagine the faces of the three OotS members who were now in Hogwarts… Since, they were the masters of the darkness and god knows what will they do if they ever met Föin again…

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, Transfiguration Classroom_

_Beginning of October_

_Morning… (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------------

Meanwhile on the other side of the UK…

To everyone's astonishment, the transfers had managed to be the first ones to enter the classroom (including Marik), sadly none of the students had the time to even try to interrogate the duellists since Professor McGonagall directly went towards her lesson. Though one could clearly see apart of Marik's cloak was ripped, it seemed he had made a great escape to class without being seen. As usual McGonagall wasn't the type of teacher who favoured students, yet she was fair to anyone who had a deep interest and a knack for her subject. Instead of changing dragon statues to lizards, that very lesson they were learning on how to make birds appear out of thin air.

No one else was able to produce a bird, only feathers out of their wands except for Hermione, Yami, Bakura, and Marik. Hermione had successively produce many small birds, Yami had produced larger birds like pelicans, emus and now he had started to produce an ostrich with his wand, Marik produced many birds of prey and the thief had produced odd selections of birds such as flamingos, ducks, and even chickens.

-((Ra, what the hell are you trying to do tomb robber?))- Yami looked incredulously at the white haired teen beside him.

The thief only grinned. -((Trying to make a chicken that lays golden eggs!))-

-((Never thought anyone would actually believe to try and make chickens to lay golden eggs like in 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. I don't think anyone is that daft to try.))- Marik chuckled.

-((Ooh… you're not mad anymore… Daft? I thought someone who couldn't make use of his 'special' powers to escape was the really ignorant one…))- Bakura mocked.

Marik grumbled, -((At least the Pharaoh gave me a hint in using my shadow ability… unlike you…))- Luckily Yami had slipped a small parchment in Marik's pocket before he turned into his wind form. The darker tomb keeper wouldn't want to imagine how he could end up like if he didn't get away from those crazed fans.

-((Hey… _I'm a thief_. The role of the saviour goes for the Pharaoh; his highness saves _everyone_… including you!))-

-((All right, break it up you two. We have more problems right now… the last thing I need is you two having a fit of each other.))- Yami sighed.

Then Marik admitted, -((So… crazed fans chasing us… I thought we weren't even going to get caught of our duellist status.))-

-((I have a feeling our leader had something to do with this.))- Bakura complained.

Yami nodded to that one, -((He could at least gave us the warning…Shadow creatures on top of him when I meet him face to face…))- he muttered.

-((About our hikaris… you think they should be taught a lesson?))- Marik implied.

Yami shook his head, -((Unnecessary, haven't you heard about any odd noises coming from your soul room?))-

-((Odd noises?))- Marik asked, and then listen carefully. There was a distant 'hachooes' in the distance… somebody was sneezing a lot lately…

Bakura only cackled, -((People are talking about them. As the old saying goes, when somebody talks behind your back, you sneeze!))-

Yami only rolled his eyes and sniggered to himself, 'Poor Yugi… he's been having multiple sneezes so far since he's the undefeated world champion.' He thought.

-((Has anyone realized we have both Slughorn's and Snape's class today?))- Marik changed the subject.

Bakura looked rather sceptical, -((Nuts… one's going to prowl us as if we're dunces that joined the celebrity people, while the other is going to beg his knees to make sure we're going to his 'Slug' parties…))-

-((This is going to be a _long _day…))- Yami muttered.

-((So does this mean we're going to switch to 'fan defensive mode'?))- Marik asked.

Bakura scowled. –((Of course you baka! It's a good thing Professor Ryu told us all those nifty spells back a Japan's magic school or would most likely be in the torture of our fans by now. I'd shudder to think about getting caught by the eccentric fan girls… ugh…))-

Yami chuckled. –((Somehow it reminds us when we got chased at the magic school in Japan huh? Majority are hysteric fan girls… Used to be a daily routine until they settled down…))-

-((Doesn't seem to be any different here.))- Marik snorted. –((So… what are we going to do when we get out of this class?))-

-((_Run._))- Yami stated simply.

-((Since when did you have a thought about chickening out Pharaoh?))- said Marik surprised.

Yami was itching to roll his eyes, but stopped himself. –((Next time you get chased by crazed hungry fans, take it as your death toll.))- he said flatly.

-((What did I do?))- Marik said and looked at the thief.

Bakura scratched his head trying to figure out how daft the psycho was. –((Ever heard of _'live to fight another day'_?))-

-((Well it's not like a chicken you made is going to lay golden eggs…))- Marik snorted.

-((What did you say?))- Bakura growled.

Somehow the subject of debating about the chicken laying golden eggs was the more important topic.

Yami sighed mentally and figured out one thing that was true...

'_I'm surrounded by idiots,'_ He thought. He felt like slamming his head onto the desk.

--------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom_

_Beginning of October_

_Two hours Later… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------

_**-Flashback-**_

Just a Moment ago…

It was true they did managed to train themselves to escape their fans… yet there was a limit on using their 'special' powers as Balancers in Hogwarts, that limit was basically they had to use the spell out of sight. Considering that time was coming towards break, more people had flooded the corridors. Of course their last option was to use wands… without Filch seeing them. Being the thief that Bakura was, he was faster in running but even thieves make mistakes. He had accidentally tripped and nearly got caught by the mob of fans. Somehow after he escaped, Ryou's tarot cards were missing from his bag.

-((Bloody shit! How did someone steal something from ME? I'm the King of Thieves and someone STOLE from _ME_!))- he exclaimed.

Yami couldn't help but laugh as he ran. –((Looks like someone has a reputation crisis to settle.))- he mocked.

-((I wish I could just send them to the Shadows and get over with it.))- Marik sighed.

-((I'd do the same tomb keeper, you know I love torturing and blood but I don't think 'his highness' would appreciate it…))- Bakura mocked with a merry tone.

Yami grumbled. -((You mind of thinking a way to get out of this predicament more strategically then trying to think ways to make me disgusted!))-

Marik grinned. –((Come on Pharaoh, we live to make others tortured! Including you!))-

-((That's the spirit tomb keeper! Make the Pharaoh pissed!))- Bakura laughed with Marik.

Yami rolled his eyes. –((Well… at least it's better then getting late to Snape's class))-

_**-Back to the Present- **_

Even being early didn't help things in DADA class. Snape had taken off house points for the three Japanese boys to come in rather sweaty to his classroom. This enraged the Gryfinddors… however Yami had managed to calm them down. Bakura was very sure Snape wasn't going to miss a chance like this to hover around them and mock them about how their celebrity status was near to as Harry Potter who had been their friend. He was wasn't wrong at all, during those two very LONG hours Snape hovered around them trying to make them nervous as if he was hoping to take more points away from Gryffindor.

Bakura playfully tossed a smaller wand he had nicked from a first year behind his back. He kept his face expression to look as though he was gloomy, though mentally he felt he wanted to laugh at Snape's feeble attempts to make him nervous. The thief didn't seem to mind about Snape's behaviour, the only thing he wanted to do was stay out of trouble. Not that Bakura wanted to be a goody-goody, but he'll just have to suppress his thief urges at least… _for the moment…_ 'Maybe I'll nick back Ryou tarot cards tonight…' the thief thought. He had been wondering who had stolen Ryou's Tarot cards that person had to pay the consequences. Though on the good side it hadn't been his deck, which he carried around with him all the time in a concealed pocket. Then he looked at the Slytherin headmaster thinking he might make another detour that night, 'And… Maybe I'll have a visit to Snape's dorm… that would be brilliant…' he thought excitedly.

Marik being the psycho that he was kept his face expressionless and also kept his view away from getting into contact with the ex-potions master. He wasn't too far off in thinking how to get revenge on Snape about these two hours of DADA class like the thief was thinking of. How to make the revenge satisfying was the thing Marik thought of as he worked on the practical. '… I got to make sure he won't suspect us…' Marik thought. Seeing that they were now members of the OotP did hinder their movements… but being a D4 wizard didn't hinder them using magic without being detected. 'A little D4 magic wouldn't hurt…' he considered.

Yami of course didn't seem to react at Snape's behaviour at all though he would answer Snape if he were addressed. He silently did his work and kept an eye on the other Gryffindors if they were to attempt in trying to rescue them, he would give them a signal to lay low. Ron and Harry seemed to be the ones who were frustrated about Snape's behaviour, but Yami signal to them not to interfere. At first they were reluctant in letting Yami and the others handle Snape alone, but after looking on how Snape wasn't going to succeed in getting house points off… they went back to their own work.

Though they went back to their work, Harry Potter kept an eye at the transfers now realizing how why the transfers were handling Snape's hovering and abusive comments carefully. During on the way to DADA class Harry read in the Duel Monsters magazine that it was a necessary need to mock your opponents to make them psychologically unstable so they would give up without a proper fight. Seeing that if the three are world-renowned duellists, they didn't seem to take in Snape's words seriously… rather it was like daily food for them. Harry wasn't sure why he had an odd feeling at times when he looked at Yugi; at times the spiky teen was compassionate, friendly and cheerful. At other times when Yugi faced Snape he was calm, collected and … _dark_ for some reason. He noticed the changes were there too for Malik and Ryou, though it wasn't as clear. Harry then figured maybe it was some sort of mode they get into. Like when Ryou duelled Malfoy, he seemed to be more confident in his skills and took on the opponent seriously. So in Snape's classes they treated the subject as a game, a duel of patience. Truthfully, Harry wasn't sure himself that Yugi was the number one duellist in the world. Someone at his age had accomplished something that amazing… in Harry's case he was famous because he did something he vaguely remembered. Harry sighed, 'At least he doesn't have a fate like mine… he doesn't need to fight a dark lord…' Harry thought bitterly. Ironically, Yugi and Yami had face many that had such a title… even Anubis, the Lord of the Dead himself.

Ron on the other hand figured about the letter he received from Fred and George this morning just as he and Harry made their way out of the Great Hall. The twins were very keen in wanting an exclusive interview with the transfers, not that Ron minded to get equally a large sum of money that the twins had offered. Yet he didn't want to injure another bond of friendship just because the one he befriended happened to be famous. He had enough of Percy of being a prat to Harry, the next thing he wanted were Fred and George ordering him around because the transfers were in fact the most famous Duellists in the world. 'They might as well beg for it…' Ron concluded. The red head was likewise curious about the transfer's status; he might as well head in first before his brothers have a chance. And at the same time… maybe he could ask Yugi, Ryou or Malik if they have more advanced pointers on Duel Monsters.

Hermione unlike Harry or Ron was much more keen in knowing more about the book she had borrowed from the library which had revealed itself to her that in fact there was a 'Balancer' or a D4 wizard that was sealed into the book. The wizard had proclaimed himself as Axel and told her what there was about the Balancers. Balancers, meaning they guarded the world at equilibrium state and had a large responsibility in doing so, for the races of both magic and non-magic folk. Hermione predicted, maybe the whole war did start off roughly in the time when the Hogwarts' Four Founders had separated though she wasn't exactly sure if they had anything to do with the tension the Balancers had with the magic folk at the time. Honestly, Hermione wanted to ask more about the D4 wizards in class. Still, with Snape's mood like this and the transfers were in the middle of it all, Hermione thought maybe it was wiser if she asked another teacher like Professor McGonagall or the worst scenario with Professor Slughorn then get the ex-potion master in a serious temper that would make him take 100 or more points off from Gryffindor.

To Snape's displeasure, he failed to make the transfers lose house points. To heal his disappointment, he had sent the whole class with a rather large amount of homework that even made Hermione worry that if she could finish it or not. The rest of the class of course sweat dropped and didn't seem to think they weren't going to finish the homework in a week, seeing that the amount looked as though it would at least take a month.

--------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, Potions Classroom_

_Beginning of October_

_Another Two hours Later… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------

Potions on the other hand had started off with Professor Slughorn's explanations about the most very complex potions that existed in the modern wizarding world, which lead the transfers getting about 10 questions in a row correct and left Hermione of with nine. It wasn't odd there were praises from the walrus professor going towards the exchange students as though it seemed Slughorn was holding back one very obvious question. It seemed he was holding to that question like a suicidal terrorist who was waiting about the right time the bomb should burst and kamikaze right on spot with plenty of victims or so Harry thought.

To Professor Slughorn's dismay, the transfers seemed to be avoiding him if he led the conversation they were having in class in the direction of their duellist status. However, it didn't make the potions teacher give up. 'If they don't wish to speak to me in class… I might as well get them after class,' Slughorn figured.

Ron who looked at Slughorn's movement and thinking about what Harry said about earlier that Slughorn loved to 'collect' soon to be famous people or already world renowned celebrities (in the transfers' case), had a feeling the teacher was eager to hold the three at the end of the class. Seeing that it maybe he (Ron) could stay back and hear what the transfers had to say wasn't a bad idea after all.

That lesson was about making antidotes for various types of poisons. As what it looked like, the Half-Blood Prince's book said of using a benzoar in curing the poisons yet again saved Harry. The transfers didn't mind about the attention that Harry was getting since they knew Slughorn had save some for them in the end of the lesson. They were quite content in getting a good reply from Professor Slughorn when they made a bottle of an Antidote to Uncommon Poisons. Though Ron and Hermione were steamed up, they had their own suspicions for the transfers.

And so the lesson ended… with Harry's prediction going underway. The transfers did get called to stay after class, but by Harry's surprise he and Hermione were called to stay as well. Ron had wanted to stay behind, he didn't want to miss the opportunity to see the three's confessions.

"I believe you three have something to tell me!" The fat pompous walrus added excitedly. "Well come on then!"

"What would exactly do you wish to know sir?" Bakura imitated Ryou's polite antics as if he didn't have a clue what Professor Slughorn was saying.

"That you three are indeed the most famous duellists in the world of course! Why didn't you tell in the fist place! Blimey, not just famous in the muggle world now in the wizarding world as well!" he exclaimed bouncing up and down.

"Well… we figured you might found out soon sir, you are a great teacher with plenty of links with famous wizards…" Yami added.

All quite a sudden Slughorn's face turned into a shade of pink, clearly showing his embarrassment.

The thief and the psycho would of rolled on the floor with laughter if Slughorn, Harry and co. weren't there, but the laughs through the mind links was enough to make Yami smirk.

"Now, now," Slughorn waved his large stubby finger at them. "I just wanted you boys to join the Slug Club meetings sometime! So how about Christmas? I mean- Oh, Harry! I managed to fix the date just at the right time where you got no Quidditch practices! Since they are apart of your team, I guess they'll have the time off too!"

Harry slowly nodded reluctantly and his face looked at the transfers in saying 'sorry'. Marik waved it off and was trying to indicate a message how to get out of the dungeons quickly to get to break by indicating to a watch.

"So!" Slughorn got their attention again. "You must tell me how your skills are like, is it true that strategically the most best duellists are far better then the best muggle strategist in the military?"

Bakura was trying hard not to mess Ryou's innocent face seeing that Professor Slughorn attitude seemed to get more annoying by the second. "You see sir…"

"Are you three going to compete for the wizarding world duel competition in another two weeks or so? It's just about 3 days after the Quidditch match of Slytherin VS Gryffindor! And-"

But Yami cut him off short, "We'd _love_ to tell you everything professor, yet we don't have the right _amount_ of time… break will be over quite soon sir. Your watch indicates we have about 15 minutes left. We don't really have much time for break or to get to class if we stay and tell you everything. Of course there might be another sufficient time like one of your parties, well if we could attend."

Ron looked at Yami quite comically how all of that was said very rapidly and very smoothly at the same time. Hermione raised an eyebrow seeing that her watch indicated very well it was only five minutes into break, she figured Yami did some non-verbal charm to the watch while he was talking. Harry signalled Hermione to ask anything so Slughorn would quickly get his attention off them.

"Professor! Can I ask you something about the Darks Arts?" Hermione quickly went into getting the walrus' attention.

"Why the sudden question young lady? Could you not ask Professor Snape?" Professor Slughorn looked at the girl strangely.

"Well, I didn't get to in class and the topic was at least two weeks ago and you know he doesn't want to repeat things unless we read our own books. I couldn't find any information from the library." Hermione said quickly. "Sir, were the D4 wizards called the Balancers before they were hunted down? Do you know what happened to them that made them dangerous?"

The potions master looked at the girl with awe where she had gotten the information, "So you really are the bright girl! Balancers indeed! Though I'm not quite sure they were called that for a reason, most of what the information you hear today isn't much. Unless you've met a D4 wizard or happen to be one yourself."

-((Uh… isn't this getting a bit too far?))- Marik indicated.

-((They couldn't have gotten that far, psycho!))- Bakura snapped.

-((Shut up! Just let us hear them, we might know something useful.))- Yami quietened the two down.

"I'm err… kind of curious too sir,' Harry added. "Why were they hunted down and when did this happen?"

Slughorn, seeing that he was getting the most undivided attention from young talented students (according to him) had no use in stopping to make this information leak out. As they (Yami, Bakura, Marik with Harry and co) all had assumed in the first place, the dam of information finally broke down.

"Well, seeing that you are all talented students… I guess I could trust this information to you. Just don't go telling other teachers I told you this," he stated as the students nodded in agreement. "According to the Ministry of Magic, it wasn't too far off just about when the Four Founders of this school separated. The Ministry thinks the D4 wizards caused the separation of the Four Founders!"

-((Come to think of it they haven't gone anywhere…))- Marik sweat dropped.

"Really sir?" Harry asked.

"I'm not quite sure how, but it's what I've been told in my days at Hogwarts. These days they don't tell anything about D4 wizard anymore you know? Don't to be telling about extinct wizards found in fossils and coming alive again!"

-((Extinct huh? I know fossils would turn up in about a million years…but a thousand years is a bit short… By the way, did he ever heard of people sealing themselves into items?))- Bakura commented.

-((He knows you baka. I doubt he'll tell us, you remember Sieg mentioning that they don't even talk about Horcruxes amongst the staff?))-

Bakura then realized, -((Oh, yeah))-

"Has anyone thought about searching for them sir?" Hermione asked carefully.

"Not in a few centuries! They don't have an existence anymore, and I highly doubt they exist today. I'm pretty sure anyone saying such things are just trying to rouse up worry in the wizarding world!" Professor Slughorn snorted and soon to find four students who were in front of him vanished into thin air.

-((Looks like that problem is sorted. We won't have to worry much about fooling others.))- Yami assured.

While Professor Slughorn explained all of that, it was enough to give Bakura, Marik, Harry and Ron to make an escape. Yami and Hermione soon quietly excused themselves in getting away from the potions master before he got the chance to ask more questions. It was instant they got run down by fans; luckily Harry had let them know about one of the secret passageways of Hogwarts and entered a secret passageway behind one of the paintings.

"That was too close!" Marik panted. "How do you know these secret doors and passage ways?"

Harry chuckled. "I used them to get away during my 4th year during the Tri Wizard tournament."

"Thanks Harry." Yami said smiling. "I doubt we wouldn't get away if you didn't help us."

"Wait a second! Why didn't you tell us you guys were the most famous duellists before?" Ron went straight to the point.

-((That… was pretty blunt.))- Bakura said sarcastically.

Then Bakura said, "You never really asked the question specifically."

"And you never asked Harry about anything to do with You-Know-Who." Ron added.

"We didn't think it was polite to say straight in anyone's face about something personal and we didn't wanted to get our own identities caught since it's nicer just being a usual student at school." Yami said truthfully.

"But you did had all that time to ask me, I was as if expecting you'd ask me sometime." Harry said.

Marik scratched his head, "We were planning to, and since we couldn't find the right time… you think now's the right time?"

Hermione then stepped in, "I guess. How did you guys meet anyway?"

"In the tournaments mostly." Bakura said giving no actual clues.

Ron then asked, "So, what do you think about the wizards version of Duel Monsters?"

The three laughed, leaving three confused Hogwarts students.

"Out of date! They're still using Duellist Kingdom Rules!" Marik sniggered.

"It's a lot better using a duel disk then the duelling mats, that's for sure." Bakura added.

Yami then explained, "Duel disks are a lot more mobile then duelling mats, and the projections are about real life size."

"How many tournaments have guys been in?" Harry asked.

"Lost count. Though the main ones were Duellist Kingdom, Battle City and KC Grand Prix, the others were lesser events." Yami said.

"Awesome…" Ron gaped at them.

Then there was a growling noise… They all looked at Bakura.

"I haven't ate a good breakfast by the way." He snorted. "Any way to get to the kitchens?"

-((Let's just hope there no raw meat.))- Yami said through a private mind link with Marik.

Marik nodded to that one, -((Or else we'll just have to hope Ryou has high metabolism rates in his stomach))-

"This way," Hermione said happily and led the group towards the kitchen. She appeared to have something in mind.

"What's so interesting about the kitchens?" Marik asked timidly.

Ron groaned, "She's not really going to persuade you guys to join her for SPEW?"

"For what?" Yami questioned.

Harry explained. "You see…"

---------------------------------------

_Tokyo, Japan_

_Kaiba Corp branch in Tokyo_

_Beginning of October_

_Nighttime… (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

Meanwhile on the other side of the world, Kaiba Corp was bustling with economic activity despite the sun had disappeared. The gaming expo on the ground floor was filled with people who were seeing Kaiba's new technology products. On the most top floor, Seto Kaiba sighed as he finally finished the last paperwork he had to submit that day and gazed at the window. Ever since Mokuba had gone back to Takazumiryu Magic School, he had felt rather lonely while he was doing his work. Minori had been busy in repairing the buildings that the Death Eaters had damaged in parts of England so she didn't have time to visit. Even though his yami would show up once in a while, it didn't affect in uplifting the CEO's mood. On second thought, Seto felt drowsy… when was the last time he slept well?

He and Richard had been in touch ever since that day he got drunk and planned to get revenge on the Ministry in any way possible through the Order. With permission from the Leader of the OotS, their plan had already been underway; with Kaiba's help, Richard's office was intercepted by recorders that muggle devices can't detect. Prime Minister Richard Williams was aware that is was dangerous to put such a device in his office but he insisted he'd help Seto to try and make Fudge talk into the direction about the project on finding the Millennium Items.

So far the recordings have been proved useful, in one conversation the methods of Bartimus Crouch, who was the head of the Magical Law Enforcement during Voldemort's rise to power were no different than the Death Eaters themselves. This only fed the rage that was swelling in Seto's heart, not too long ago he heard from Sieg that Malik's mother and twin brother who was actually Marik were killed in the same method as well by Scrimgeour himself. The more information Seto received from Richard the more it drove the CEO to find any medical records that had to do with the accident when the car went over a cliff led to the death of his parents. Seto was told that Voldemort's Horcrux killed his parents; it made Kaiba wonder why he didn't remember anything on the day of the accident.

His blue eyes soon gazed on what it looked to be medical records that he got from the hospital and from the police officers that handled the case. After getting such a document with ease (because Seto had plenty of links in the police department), he somehow never had got the time to open it in the last three days. Not that he was always busy with his work, but he thought it was better if he finished his expo project first, and then open it. Yet, something was hindering him in opening it, it was the last words of what his friend in the Police Department said…

_**-Three Days Ago-**_

---------------------------------------

_Tokyo, Japan_

_Central Police Station in Tokyo_

_Evening… (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

In a neat office Seto Kaiba sat on a chair waiting for his Inspector friend, Inspector Seimaru to give him details on what he found out about the night of the accident. Of course Seto didn't trust just anyone in handling personal cases, Seimaru did in the past helped Kaiba kick out a couple of his employees who tried to make corruption in KC. And for that, he was grateful and made sure Seimaru would handle things that may be happening in his company. In return, Seimaru was rewarded handsomely with a good sum of money.

"Well? Any results?" Seto asked.

"Some medical records, and autopsies from the police." Seimaru said as he handed the files to Kaiba. "Though truth to be told I can't really solve what really happened. It's just too vague. No wonder they called it case closed, in those days technology wasn't as good as now."

Seto accepted the files and flicked them quickly. "Seems rather thick for just one case," he commented.

"Exactly, the private detective who was working on the case seemed to have found many oddities in how the victims died, your mother didn't show any signs of physical injuries and the time she died couldn't be predicted very well."

The CEO suspected that would be the Avada Kedavra Spell, it was the only spell that doesn't do damage but takes one's life.

Seimaru only looked at the CEO curiously and put both his hands on his waist, "You sure you want to look at this case? It's already far fetched as it is…"

"I've made my decision." Seto said curtly, and sat up. "I still need to get business done at KC, thanks for the help."

They both shook hands. "I guess I won't be able to stop you. Good luck on it though, I asked a couple of my friends who are talented in criminology and they said their heads cracked in trying to solve it for hours. There was one thing that didn't make sense at all with the case." Seimaru admitted.

"What's that most far fetched clue did you find?" Seto questioned.

"You and your brother's survival is one, but… Your real father's time of death seemed to be… a bit off. It doesn't seem to fit inside the time frame of an accident if one's car fell off a tall cliff. _He should've died a few minutes right after your real mother died or at the same time…_"

_**-Back to the Present-**_

'…A few minutes after or at the same time?' Seto repeated in his head.

Seto eagerly wanted to know about what really happened on the night where his parents had died, but that meant he was going into the past again. It was the thing he hated the most… And yet, this time, he wanted to fix everything straight… this wasn't just for himself… he wanted to do this for Mokuba as well…

Without thinking twice he poured into the contents of the folder. Mostly the files contained text and it had a few photos that were to be said that have cause the car to crash. According to the autopsy on his real father, he died about five hours later after the accident, his mother died according to the muggle police random prediction instantly just seconds or minutes after the fall. Seto felt rather suspicious about this, in muggle terms it wasn't possible since his real father did get heavy injuries that would definitely put him the ICU immediately and survive it in five hours later. In magical terms Kaiba figured it was just the same oddity, they were both Balancers/D4 wizards and could've escaped unscratched by magic.

'… That's unusual, if Voldemort intended to kill my real parents he might as well do it quickly. He wouldn't want to wait for another five hours to let some sort of poison work.' Kaiba thought sceptically as he paced around in his office. Not knowing what to do about the current situation, he went to the mini fridge in his office and poured a glass of water. He sipped the cool water and felt slightly better as it moistened his dry throat.

Then there was an odd sensation Seto felt in his office, he turned around and found the Millennium Rod hovering in mid air facing at him. Seto thought he secured it in his desk drawer but there it was, looking at him as if it wanted something. Seth materialised beside him looking rather confused as his host.

-(What's going on?)- Seto asked the darker half quickly.

-((I'm not quite sure, but it seems to know something.))- Seth predicted. –((The Items don't usually react like this unless there's something important they wish to show.))-

Could this have been like Battle City? When Seto and Yami saw the past? 'Wait… the past…' Seto thought.

-(Is it indicating the past?)-

Seth looked slightly surprised at his host. –(…Yes, it is. Though it's not from 5000 years ago…it seems to be much more recent then that. Maybe it's yours?))-

-(Mine?)- Seto asked.

-((If the Millennium Eye did deflect Sieg's spell to Marik's memory then Malik's, I might guess the Millennium Rod knows something we don't know.))- Seth said.

-(Don't give me that destiny and fate shit.)- Seto said flatly.

-((I'd rather not mind you, but I think there is a reason why the Rod wants you to know.))- Seth countered smoothly. –((I don't find that the items reacting in a sequence is a coincidence either.))-

Seto had the urge to smack his yami in the face for saying that, but it was true enough. The items never reacted to any situation unless it was getting dangerous and would reveal something to their wielders of something useful. If one item had reacted, most likely the rest will be affected.

-(Let's go.)- Seto said determined.

Seth only smirked; at least his host was now accepting that visions were apart of him.

Seto held onto the Millennium Rod as it gave a blinding ray of light…

-----------------------------------

_Somewhere in Japan_

_Coastal Cliff Road_

_On a hot summer night…_

-----------------------------------

Seto opened his eyes as he found himself hovering in the air just above the family car; the stars were shining brightly that night and the driveway just at the cliff of the shoreline. It ached Seto's heart as he saw them together… his younger self, Mokuba and his real parents laughing together. It all seemed an illusion to him now, he never really thought all of that was reality. Ever since the accident, life had turned 180 degrees for the Kaiba brothers. He never really thought he had that kind of a happy past before and now it was in front of him again…

-((You alright?))- Seth asked.

-((Yeah…))- Seto shrugged him off.

Though honestly, Seto felt unwell and there was an unsettling feeling the memory was giving him. He didn't know why, but he felt there was something trying to escape from this memory and it had been locked up somewhere. '… Why is my head throbbing? …' the CEO thought.

Seto followed the car carefully along the road, intently looking for any signs that it was magical work. Behind him, the Priest only watched as the situation unfolded. Just as the car was heading to a left turn on the cliff, it suddenly skidded and crashed into the safety road fence and tumbled down the cliff. The two only stared at it at the moment… there were no magic things involved.

-((By Ra? Nothing happened!))- The priest looked at the scene taken aback.

-(Wait, look!)-

Without warning, the incident re-winded by itself and just as the car was about to skid, the Millennium Rod hovered in front of Kaiba and blasted him through the head. "Arrgh!" Seto cried clutching he head painfully. Images were flashing in front of his eyes and everything he saw blurred. Seto thought at that moment his head was being ripped into two and started to fall as he lost the ability to hover.

Seth without delay went to rescue and grabbed his light just in time; he slung Seto's left arm around his neck and lifted him up. As the pain ceased, Seto weakly leaned on his darker half. If the situation wasn't as worst as this Seto's pride would've told him to get away from the other's grasp, but Seto thought better of it. If it weren't for his yami he would've crashed down.

Seth grumbled as he looked to the Millennium Rod. Unlike the other items that were 'softer' in revealing visions, the Rod had a harsh way in doing so. The priest looked somewhat worried about the condition of his light. Seto was looking pale, tired, and his breathing heavy after the affects of the blast. It made Seth wonder why the Rod would exert such a force on Seto's memories; he doubted that any of the other Items would do such a thing unless something strong was need in breaking. Next, the car started to move very slowly…

-(Seth… bring me… down there…)- Seto said weakly.

-((What? After all of that? You got to be kid- ))-

Seto cut him off, -(There's something… I need to see…)-

-((Not like this you won't!))- Seth argued.

-(Please…)- Seto said out of breath.

That word shocked the darker half. Never in his time with Kaiba he said such a thing to either then his younger brother. Then Seth thought to himself, '… It was the reason why he wanted to see this past, even if it meant sacrificing his pride.' Then it suddenly hit the yami, if Kaiba was like this in the memory world… what happened to the real Kaiba outside? If any of the employees found out, things won't be good. Seth slightly panicked; the only way was to get through the memory as soon as possible.

He snorted to his light, -((Fine, just make sure you make it out alive.))-

-(Who said…anything about… dying?)- Seto smirked

-((Stubborn hikari.))- Seth said. He was expecting Seto to retort back, but in an instant he realized Seto was growing weaker. He was leaning more on him and his weight was starting to shift on to the priest. –((Damn, I need to get this over with!))-

Swiftly he flew towards the moving car, as close as he could carry the CEO. They both had their eyes wide opened as the events unfolded. The car had skidded in trying to avoid a person in the middle of the road. That person was no other than Voldemort himself. Just as the car flew over the cliff, Voldemort apparated into thin air. Seth looked at Seto.

-(You lead)- he said.

Seth nodded and went to the scene of the crash. Much of the car was destroyed but the most amazing thing Seth had noticed was the whole family was all right. It looked like the Order had been correct that both of his parents were Alter-Matters, they both didn't seem to be hurt at all. Mokuba was unconscious with Seto beside him hidden in the bushes. Just as soon the mother stepped back to see her two sons, a green light shot into her taking her life away. The lifeless body fell to the floor, as if a marionette has lost its stings.

Rock hands had pinned down the younger Seto, the CEO noticed that his father had been protecting him not reveal himself. Finally, Voldemort made his appearance. He smiled with pleasure at the corpse of the young woman, that made Seto fume. The next scene had lead to a torture with the Imperious Curse that the CEO himself did not dare to watch. Hearing his father screaming for help was enough; he didn't have the heart to want to see his father's pain at all.

"Now, tell me again. Where is the Millennium Item you held Muggle!" the Dark Lord ordered.

The father only smiled painfully, "Muggle? What are you talking about? Probably a on another continent by now."

The Dark lord only sent him another blast, which gave another cry into the summer night, "You mud bloods think you're strong that you take us for nothing. It's a shame your life ends with me!" Another Green light was shot and the father fell, Seto tried to go to him but Seth stopped the CEO reminding him this was a memory.

Somehow, a snake had come in hissing to the Dark Lord something; afterwards the Dark Lord departed and left with a Dark Mark on the sky.

Extraordinarily, the father had survived. Seth had guess he turned into stone or something that absorbed the spell, but his condition poor. He could barely sit up, it was possible because of the countless Imperious Curses being sent by Voldemort. Yet what made Seth confused was the extent of injures and the blood that pour out from the cuts wasn't actually the affect of a normal imperious curse. The Imperious curse wasn't supposed to do physical damage, but mental damage. In this case, it did both.

Seto stared at his real father that was still alive. He then realized the autopsy had been correct; his father had survived another five more hours. The memory soon blurred as it fast forward five hours, this time it wasn't Voldemort doing the torturing, it was three people from the Ministry.

One person, whom the priest or the CEO didn't recognized, was looking out for any one who was hiding… but the other two interrogating his father were no other than…

_Bartimus Crouch Senior and Rufus Scrimgeour. _

-(Damn it!…)- Seto growled, he felt so helpless that night because he was too afraid to come out.

"Bartimus, there's no way in getting any information out of this one." Rufus spat.

"Surely a Death Eater wanted to know about the Millennium Items. There seems to be a Dark Mark here." The ex-Head of the Magical Law Enforcement said.

Scrimgeour simply shot a spell into the sky and in a flash and the mark was gone. "Let's just hope any muggles didn't have to see this."

"And what of the Ministry?" Bartimus said worried. "Surely they'll know about this?"

"I doubt it, it's on Japanese waters." Rufus said and looked to the young injured man. "Any last words?"

Faintly the young man said in Japanese, "I'm sorry Seto, Mokuba…. I love you both…"

This time the green light that erupted from Scrimgeour's wand marked his last breath.

Crouch only snorted, "How many more do we need to eliminate? Aren't the Millennium Items gone?"

Rufus shot him a glare, "Not as long as any muggle or wizard knows about them with great detail. It's important to seal this secret quickly; You-Know-Who's followers might want those Items to bring him back alive and…"

"What?" Crouch asked.

"Those Items were made by D4 wizards. Such artefacts shouldn't even be in the hands of Muggles!" Rufus shouted.

"Even so, it doesn't mean we need to kill them. Why can't we just erase their memory?" Bartimus protested.

Rufus looked at Crouch sceptically, "And what? Let them begin a new search? No thank you!"

Seth wanted to know more on what was going on but this time the whole memory went black. The priest's attention was back to his host who had passed out completely. He cursed at himself for being stupid not to realize how Seto had been weakening. It was a matter of time. As swiftly as he could carry the CEO, the Priest headed out towards the exit of the memory…

--------------------------------

…………………

…………………

…………………

--------------------------------

Although everything was pitch black, Seto heard soft voices, one was definitely had been his yami, and the other two were female. His head was…painful. It felt like somebody had pinned a nail through it. Especially his forehead, it was the first spot where the blast had came in contact with him. Seto had guessed he was alive and his yami who was the one who saved him. Then he sensed the movement of someone's fingers through his hair.

"Seto?" the voice asked.

Truthfully Seto himself didn't feel like waking up, it just seemed so bothering. The ache inside his head hadn't settled down and he was rather reluctant to make the pain worse. But then he remembered that he must've collapse in the office, what happened if Isono found out? His right hand man would most likely had called an ambulance and sent him into hospital. Unwillingly, the CEO opened one eye. One thing he did notice was he had a feeling the place wasn't the hospital. He cracked the other eye to focus on his vision. He was greeted with a face that seemed to be relived.

"… Minori? …" he groaned.

"You're awake."

"How long… have I been out?" Seto asked trying to remember what had come over him.

"About three hours." She said softly. "Don't worry about what happened in the office. Seth took care of that."

Seto's eyes shifted to where both his yami and Kisara were standing. Kisara greeted the CEO with a wave while Seth greeted him with a nod.

-(Thanks)- Seto said in a private mind link.

-((You're welcome))- Seth said back.

Realizing that the two needed a moment with each other Kisara gave Seth a look that made the Priest agree to leave the room.

-((We'll tell Dimitri that Seto's already awake.))- Kisara said.

-((Do you wish me to tell him about the memory?))- Seth asked his host.

Kaiba nodded. "But…no one else."

Just in a few seconds, the two spirits disappeared from the room. Minori and Seto were left alone, the CEO was quite thankful that their darker halves were polite. He couldn't even imagine in having darker halves like Bakura or Marik. Speaking of where he was… it seemed they were at the OotS headquarters.

"Weren't you working on the homes that were lost in the tornado at England?" Seto asked.

"I was and still am." She smirked pointing to the laptop just beside Seto's bed.

Seto only smiled as he rolled his eyes, "Aren't we all workaholics…"

"I doubt you'd want to waste any time in working if you were on a important project." Minori grinned back.

Seto scowled, "Fine. Now I'm starting to wish I had my laptop with me."

"It's over here if you want to check your email." The architect pointed on the small desk just about a metre away from the CEO. "Though I wouldn't advise you to type with your right hand."

Seto then realized that Minori had pointed out his hand was in bandages.

"You grabbed the glass so hard it broke." Minori explained.

The CEO grumbled, "All because of that _thick_ memory the Millennium Rod told me."

Seto looked at Minori for an answer. She was there, waiting for him if he had wanted to share the recollection of his past. Feeling the right time to tell what had happened, Seto told her everything he saw. He explained everything from the medical files, when the Millennium Rod acted strangely, the crash, Voldemort, and even to the appearance of Bartimus Crouch and Rufus Scrimgeour.

Minori was taken aback how Voldemort was there when during Seto's time of the crash; the dark lord should've been in exile. The half Italian and Japanese architect was now starting to think, 'Was the Voldemort in Kaiba's memory was his Horcrux?' Being the holder of the Millennium Charm, she felt slightly bothered the fact how the other original items acted so violently in revealing the truth. Her Item only acted as a seal, and was probably the weakest out of the rest. It still gave her visions of her own past, but for now, Seto didn't have to know that. He already had too many things in his own hands.

"Minori?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you tell Mokuba about what happened to me?"

Minori shook her head. "No, I'd thought you didn't want to make your brother worried."

Kaiba sighed in relief. "Thanks."

"But it doesn't mean you'll be working tomorrow morning." She added with a grin.

Seto was about to retort but Minori beat him to it. "Wait, hold it… I only said tomorrow _morning._ Me and Seth rescheduled the meetings so at least you could get plenty of rest."

Seto only sent her his infamous glare that would've sent chills through a nervous stockholder.

"Seto Kaiba, when it comes to working, you're too easy to read." Minori sniggered.

"Minori Lorenzo, my company would've crushed you if we were in the same league." Seto mocked back.

"Too bad it isn't. So, you wanna check your email?" Minori offered.

Seto gave a nod.

Seto had to admit, who'd ever thought he met someone who was identical to him in many ways (excluding his yami of course). Minori herself was a workaholic, a duellist (though not as powerful as Seto), a CEO of her company the UDA (Urban Design Architecture) and knew how important time was. Yet what probably what the CEO of KC like about her the most was her cheerfulness and her optimism in working. He guessed he made the right choice in dating someone, since if anyone one saw them how they dated, Seto doubted they'd understand at all. If anyone would think dating equalled to a stereotypical 'romantic candle light dinners' their mouth will most likely crash onto the floor. How did these two dated? Simply by sitting in the Minori's courtyard (Should I mention a Mansion courtyard?) or Kaiba's with their laptops opened, talking about work. As unromantic as that sounded, the two found, it was their own way in developing their relationship.

Yet, as happy as Kaiba was in finding who may be his partner for life, Dimitri as his new parental guardian, becoming closer to his old friend Richard and seeing Mokuba grow up, he was slightly afraid what was to come. It's funny how those times in Battle City he had always looked toward the future… now it seemed the future seemed uncertain… But he wasn't going to give up everything that life had offered to him. No matter who was in the way, either Voldemort or Scrimgeour, he only wanted one thing through the war that might come forth… he wanted to win.

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The OotS Student's Dorm_

_Beginning of October_

_Night (Local Time)_

-------------------------------------------

One thing that Yami could think of that day was… very LONG…

**-A Few hours ago-**

After Hermione had introduced them to the Elves in the kitchens, the three had requested to take their breakfast and other meals of the days to their dorm (at least until the crowd of fans decreased). Dobby in particular, had been more willing after Marik gave him one of his spare gold bracelets that he usually didn't wear. But apparently they declined (very politely) to Hermione they didn't wish to join SPEW. She was slightly disappointed at first, though, thanks to Yami's encouragement in telling Hermione that in Japan Elves were free, and that she could do the same thing in England, Hermione seemed to have a liking to Yami's attitude. Bakura and Marik laughed at this, but soon stopped only to be wiped out by flying six-inch thick dictionaries sent by Yami.

Later, they had visited Hagrid's Hut together to see if he was okay about Aragog. They had spent nearly about 3 hours or so in the giant's hut hearing him about Aragog being sick and starting to die. Aragog who was Hagrid's pet spider transfers heard about had turned out to be a giant tarantula, to the transfers' amazement. Yami sweat dropped and hoped that he didn't make Aragog swallow the love potion when he mad a prank on the Slytherins. Bakura on the other hand had shifted the conversation from spiders to dragons, which to the three Hogwarts students' astonishment had lifted Hagrid's spirit up. As a reward, Hagrid had cooked the rather large heavy muffins that one of them could fit a cereal bowl. The students looked at the muffins uncertainly in how they were going to eat it. It was Ron who first tried to take a bit out of it, only to find it was hard as a rock.

"Oh God! We'll need teeth growing potions if we eat these!" Ron exclaimed.

It was then Marik who came up with the idea of (secretly) chucking the muffins into the lake, which all of them agreed to do.

Seeing the six muffins sink, Bakura commented, "I doubt any normal stomach would digest those."

"I thought yours wasn't normal." The pharaoh mocked referring to the raw meat Bakura liked to eat.

"Shut up." Bakura snapped.

**-Back to the Present-**

All of them had returned from exploring the castle until late at night.

Bakura was very satisfied to find Ryou's Tarot Cards with him. The victim who stole those cards wasn't very lucky. When the psycho and the pharaoh asked the thief about what happened, Bakura only said, "Unfortunately he's sleeping upside-down from a tree." The thief also mentioned he went to visit a few places in the castle, but wasn't in the mood to tell the other two. Plus, Bakura was taking care of a chicken in their dorm.

The psycho wasn't convinced at all the chicken was going to lay golden eggs, so he suggested they should roast it instead. Soon, Marik tried to steal Bakura's chicken that he made in Transfiguration; only to be blasted with a flippendo spells sending him into the wall. Just as Bakura grabbed the chicken away from Marik… Plop! A very glittery golden egg rolled on the floor. Marik felt like someone had just yanked a carpet from under him. Yami stopped from reading his book, looked at them for a second, and soon lost interest.

Yami was more worried about why his hikari hadn't responded or even talked at all through the mind link since this morning, then wondering about Bakura taking care of a chicken. It wasn't like Yugi at all to not have contact him all day. Could something have happened to Yugi? He had read Yugi's email recently that Kaiba had some sort of vision of the past that passed him out. Could the Items…

'CLING!'

The Millennium Puzzle glowed, and the Ring followed.

-((What on earth?))- Yami said.

-((Some way to enjoy Hogwarts, eh?))- A new voice in the room said.

The three soon gazed to Seth who was watching them from the corner of the room

-((What's the Priest doing here?))- Marik said.

Bakura looked at him oddly, -((How did you get here without being close to the Millennium Rod?))-

-((I asked Dimitri to cast a spell to get me here, at least for two hours.))- the Priest replied.

-((Seth, you know what's going on?))- The pharaoh addressed his friend immediately.

-((The Items are telling us something.))- Bakura said.

Seth nodded. –((Yes, they are. Just a few hours ago Seto was affected))-.

-((Are you saying our hikaris are affected too?))- Marik asked.

-(Not me, thank you.)- Malik finally appeared.

-((Where have YOU been tomb keeper?))- Bakura growled.

Malik countered, -(In my soul room. I've only lost contact with Yugi and Ryou three hours ago…)-

-((Rats, I'm too late.))- Seth cursed.

-((What happened to Kaiba, you don't think the Items will…))- Yami hesitated.

-((Do the same thing. I'm not sure but your hosts might be in danger.))- Seth said.

Bakura raised an eyebrow, -((What kind of danger?))-

-((The Millennium Rod forced Seto to watch a memory from the past. It drained his mentality considerably; if we don't hurry those memories might knock your hikaris out for a week.))- Seth explained.

-((I don't think I'll stand doing all Ryou's homework for a week.))- Bakura said truthfully.

-(So where should we go first?)- Malik asked.

-((Inside the Millennium Ring.))- Seth instructed.

Without thinking the tomb robber made a dark portal and went in, soon to be followed after by Malik who dragged Marik behind him.

Yami stood silently, and looked at the priest.

-((Is there something you want to say to me Seth?))- Yami asked. –((I had a feeling you wanted to say it personally.))-

-((What did you think about what I said of Voldemort coming up in Seto's memory in my email?))-

-((Too vague if you ask me. Voldemort only made six Horcruxes; the seventh marked his own soul.))-

-((Exactly, and yet he spoke in parseltongue.))- Seth added.

-((I have a bad feeling in what's to come…and that our real enemy isn't Voldemort at all…))- Yami said uncertainly and walked through the dark portal first.

Seth slightly winced as a thought came into his mind and walked into the portal…'And I have a dreadful feeling we're going against an enemy that's far more powerful then Voldemort…'

TO BE CONTINUED

--------------------------------------

Sorry about the cliffy, hehehe… I had to stop or the chapter would've been about 20,000 words long… ; … that's too much for one chapter…. I think you guys need to digest it first… ;P

Don't worry about the next chapter, I do promise it'll be sooner then this one!

The last verse of the poem or song or what ever you call it is taken from the anime/manga Bleach and is a bit modified. The rest I do not own! Do not sue!

So what do you think? Good, Bad or got your own opinion? Just drop in a review! I welcome any constructive reviews and if any of you have ideas don't hesitate to tell me!

By the way, has anyone actually noticed how hard it is when one follows the book (HP) it's that HARD getting information and making sure they're correct? Correct as in if it fits with both YGO and HP plots, and that they don't contradict with each other? Trust me, it's been a challenge! I just want to say a HUGE thank you to Himig for telling me this awesome site that has all the dates, figures, people, timeline, spells, potions and all the info based on the six books (even what's up to come in the seventh though it's a rough estimate)! For any writer who's currently doing an YGO x HP fic I advise you to check this site: www hp-lexicon org if you want to have a base in your fic. It really helps!

Either then that… For you who want help in writing HPxYGO fics please stop by the forums sometime (There's Angrychibi's forum and Shadow-Huntress-Mage's forum), it's a good place to share ideas and to ask about something! Anyone with me going for the 200-review point? Hope so!

See you in the next Chapter! (or the forums)

Next on HP, HBP, and the OotS… 

Yugi and Ryou are in lost in their memories of the past…

Marik finds out the truth of Malik's past…

Hermione finds out more about D4 wizards/Balancers through Axel…

Quidditch Cup: Slytherin VS Gryffindor!

Is the Unbreakable Vow breakable?

The Duelists are invited to a mini DM tournament in the Wizarding world!

**Chapter 13: 'The _Society of Order of the Shadows.' (Part 2)_**

**_NOTE: (18th June 2006): I have enabled anonnymous reveiwers to review! Sorry about that! I didn't realized I disabled it! Thanks to Seithr-Kairy for telling me this. Forgive me if you wanted to review but you weren't a member or if you couldn't be bothered to login! _**


	13. Chpt 13: The Society of the OotS Part 2

**Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince, and the Order of the Shadows**

**Summary:** (HPxYGO) Based on the sixth book (Slight AU). Yugi, Ryou and Malik have been transferred to Hogwarts from Japan's Takazumiryu Magic School to be representatives of Japan in Hogwarts. As the members of the OotS they plan to find out more about Voldemort...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any thing of YGO and HP in this fic (or food/drink merchandise or anything that are commonly known)...only part of the plot and OCs...parts of the text truly belong to J.K.Rowling from the book of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I'll tell which parts)...

**I'll put this note on _every_ chapter:**

Yamis mind link -((text))-

Hirkaris mind link -(text)-

Parts form the 6th book or any HP book _-text-_

Upcoming paragraph (s) to do with emails, articles or flashbacks _Text_

Writing _Xx … Text … xX_

Status of Duel Monster: (No. Of Stars or Level /ATK/DEF)

Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.

**AU Note:**

Well… what do you know… another long wait? Gomen! (Sorry) But as promised long update longer chapter! I've been collecting duel card info lately and character info and spell info… tons of info… ah… well… that's why crossovers are fickle… Another reason why it's late… a FREAKING WORM (virus) ATE ALL OF MY FOLDERS IN MY USB! That includes my fic update… I had to start again from the middle of the chapter T.T (that's 7500/15000 gone!)… darn…

And the answer is yes for those who have noticed that Axel is indeed from Kingdom Hearts 2 (and will look like in the game). Yeah, I admit… I'm a fan of KH2. BUT strictly the story will stay in the YGO/HP area; he's just for a character reference and will play a more supportive role. So he won't have anything to do with KH2 okay? So for people who haven't played the game, don't worry, he's a cameo. No need to know anything about him from the game (unless, you're interested in looks). For those who know and like him, good for you; those who don't like, I'm not sure what to say…

I'm writing another xover fan fiction (quality one) so it has taken some of my time from this fic (most likely shorter chapters)… but… this fic still will be my main focus so don't worry, _it will end_. At what chapter? Pretty much towards the end of the Hogwarts school year (and definitely before the 7th book is relesed)… Yeah, you could say I'll be writing a sequel. Looks like I'm becoming a xover author: an author who focuses on crossovers (is that something weird?) I'm wondering if there are other xover authors too… Well, here's another thick juicy chapter for everyone who's been waiting… 15,700 words!

**P.S.** Err… just to warn sensitive readers, there's a lot of swearing in this chapter… sorry about that, but it was necessary for the plot (sweat drops)… and err… not so nice to look or imagine scenes (you'll find out in the fic)… forgive this maniac author…

Enjoy!

**Chapter 13: '_The Society of Order of the Shadows.' (Part 2)_**

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_Unknown Country_

_Unknown Location_

_Beginning of October_

_Nightfall (Local Time)_

-------------------------------

A very tall and thin man walked calmly in a place that seemed to be an office corridor. His features were that of a young looking 30-year-old person, though if you looked into his sharp green eyes you'd feel he's been around since… who knows? If you had a staring competition with him… he'd most definitely win, considering he did had all that time in the world. His dark brown greasy hair that was combed to the back of his head indicated the man held himself in a very proud and neat manner, as this person was indeed someone who was a high ranking member. Silently, the tall figure made his way to a large mahogany door and knocked it gently.

"Come in," a stern yet cheerful voice said from inside.

The tall man simply turned the doorknob and went inside. The room was spacious, there were plenty of old ancient books on the bookshelves, and the owner of the room was standing and leaning against the window just opposite of his desk. The face of the owner was blurred; the shadows simply hindered the stranger's identity from anyone's view. On the large office desk there seemed to be a lot of papers lying around, many were memos the owner was making, while a few others had to do with schedules.

"Please, have a seat. So Dimitri Vladimir, what business do we have this time? International relations or… does this concern _the Order_?" the man asked.

"The Order, thank you very much." Dimitri said as he clicked his fingers and summoned the chair next to him. The chair's legs moved, walked towards the tall Russian wizard and its then legs sprouted to the comfortable position that Dimitri could sit.

The other man chuckled, "Sorry for that, I'll remember to _alter_ it next time when you come around Dimitri, not all chairs suit your height."

"Too few Föin Etesian, more than a thousand years I lived, I only found that bar stools could compare to my height." He commented. "Shall we get to important matters?" Dimitri added.

"About the visions Seto Kaiba had experienced?" Föin asked.

"As I informed you earlier."

"The Millennium Items are the warning. The wizards' war may already have started a year ago, and certainly isn't our business, but now _ours'_ is just around the corner." Föin said.

"…"

"As much as you want to avoid any conflict as I do, I have a feeling we can't run away this time." Föin advised. "Too many lost their lives then."

"Just as the leader of the Balancers should say." Dimitri said quietly. "I thought you hated being chosen to lead us Balancers."

Föin was silent at the moment and then replied, "I used to, until someone made me realize I shouldn't give up half way. The blood in my veins doesn't control me, so I might as well choose my own fate."

Dimitri then looked at the empty perching stand that evidently was empty, "Where's your phoenix? It hasn't come back yet?"

"With a friend, and the very one who told me not to give up halfway." Föin replied. "Anything anomalous about Seto's past?"

"Voldemort showed up, and so did Scrimgeour." Dimitri stated. "Voldemort of course shouldn't have been in the memory… he was looking for the Items."

"He won't find them nor will the other wizards of the Ministry. Unless the Item Holders wish to… but I doubt that would be a problem."

"You seem to be very sure." Dimitri said unsatisfied. "I'm still having doubts about the Millennium Charm, how could there an eighth Item? Ninety-nine lives were sacrificed just to create seven."

"You're right about that, there are _only_ seven. There was never an eighth Millennium Item and there never will be one, as you know I had said it was and still is a _Seal_." Föin corrected.

"And yet it had the soul of Kisara." Dimitri countered.

Föin grumbled as he scratched his head, "How should I explain it then?"

"In the simplest of words that would make anyone understand would be best."

"Well…"

"Alright," Dimitri thought out aloud. "How about the reason for its existence? Each Item has a reason for its source of powers; mainly the seven original ones were created and practiced on governing the law and unifying Ancient Egypt. What of the Millennium Charm?"

"The Millennium Charm has no power whatsoever in governing law or unifying in Ancient Egypt because it was created _after_ Atemu's dominion fell. After the Pharaoh had died, the country was in chaos. Apparently, the remaining priests who survived foresaw that the Millennium Items were magnets for those who were greedy for power." The leader of the OotS explained.

"And so it was created. With…dare I ask how many lives?" Dimitri looked at Föin skeptically.

"_None_…from any villages of course, they didn't want to make a second Kul Eruna and face another dark lord. Instead, the life of the creator himself, _he_ made it as a magical seal, which acted as a barrier that protected the original seven items. Hence the name 'Millennium Charm', a charm that took care of the other Items _magically_."

"Could you define the term magically a bit more?" Dimitri asked. "Ah, and who is _he_?"

"Magically as muggles would term them as… Ancient Egyptian curses." Föin pointed out.

"I thought the seven Millennium Items themselves already had security for themselves. Say for example, the Ring wouldn't let anyone wear it or should I say it would burn the victim unless that person happened to be its destined owner or another Millennium Items holder."

Föin shook his head, "The Egyptians were very intelligent considering humanity was at its primary level in developing ancient societies, not did they only see those who were hungry for power are muggles, but they also foresaw wizards happen to have the same desire for power. So the term _magically_ was used to define the Millennium Charm act as a barrier so _wizards_ won't know or detect where the seven original Items are. So even if the thickest Shadow magic was used say for example the Shadow game they had in Battle City, as long the Millennium Charm was not found or destroyed then there's no reason the original seven would be found."

"I see… It's a wonder why the Ministry hasn't detected them all these years or found the owners who possessed them at all. Even if the thickest amount of Shadow magic was used… The Millennium Charm has protected the seven original ones while the item itself wasn't detected at all." Dimitri said surprised. "Now I'm curious where you get all this information from, as you and I know the Millennium Items are something that are not lightly to be talked about, even among us Balancers."

"Shadi."

Dimitri's eyes went wide, "What! Hasn't he gone to the afterlife?"

"Technically, he told me this information 50 years ago. However, he reminded me before he left and went to the afterlife." Föin added. "He was the ghost of one of the Pharaoh's priests that had seen the making of the Millennium Charm, if I remember… he said something on the lines it was created incase 'fate took another road'… or so he said."

"Can you say that in English? Or Russian preferably?" Dimitri sweat dropped.

"English." Föin agreed. "All of us Balancers knows destiny has _one_ arrival point, but _countless_ of ways in getting there. The Nameless Pharaoh was to be revived from deep sleep into the world to stop Zork from escaping, destroy him, and will go back to the afterlife. However, in order to go back to the afterlife doesn't necessary mean that the duel with Yugi was the only way… if 'fate had took another road' as Shadi had said then dying naturally at the same time with his incarnation would had also been another alternative way."

Dimitri then said, "Out of all the people on this planet, he entrusted this information to you? You're not the convincing type as I remembered."

Föin chuckled, "I asked the same thing to Shadi when he shared me this information. I doubted the fact he thought I looked trusting, but when he told me he knew of my family bloodline, I was convinced he wasn't joking."

"Your family has been the leaders for the Balancers through each generation for a reason. It's because your family has all associated blood within them, from the matter of Muggle born, Half-Blood to Pure Blood to Alter-Matters, Soul Summoners, Element Masters and even the Shadow Casters."

"A cocktail mix you could say." Föin said with a sad smile. "At least that's what Axel used to say…"

"You haven't given up looking for him, have you?"

The mixed blood Balancer sighed, "Not at all. I wonder where he went all those centuries, even with all this links in the Order I still can't find him."

"You'll find him." Dimitri said. "And when you do, make sure you douse him with a flood. His fiery attitude could use some cooling down."

"Aye." Föin smiled.

"So… back to our topic…" Dimitri started. "Who was the creator of the Millennium Charm? There's got to be some sort of reason Kisara got inside it in the first place."

"I'll give three clues. First, he must have some detailed knowledge about ancient magic and know how the Millennium Items work. Obviously you could say he's a Shadow Caster. Second, with such magical knowledge it's presumably true that he wasn't a commoner in Egypt , but an elite or a royal. Three, most likely he had ties to the Pharaoh's battle with Zork but more precisely the only person who had close relations with Kisara. Is it clear enough who?"

"_Priest Seth?"_ Dimitri said incredulously.

"Correct, it also explains why he inhabits the Millennium Rod. A Horcrux that the Egyptians created are only worthy for those who have knowledge of advanced Shadow magic. One does not have to kill another to make a Horcrux, but one can sacrifice their own life to protect or support the journey of others to the afterlife. It's very similar to the methods Element Masters, Soul Summoners and even Alter-Matters use. I have a feeling he did this for Septi as well, it would explain why she's in the Scales."

"It makes me wonder why he hasn't told us all of this."

"Well, I don't think it's our right to force him to tell us. Though, truthfully I had a feeling Seth did it for safety measures."

"I'd like to hear more of it."

"If the information of the Millennium Charm had leaked out, then most likely everyone on the face of world would be searching for it. It was better not to proclaim any existence of the Charm since it could also prove to be a weakness for the other seven items. Seth was aware of this, and in turn had deliberately said it was normal treasure to his subjects."

"It's funny no one has ever try to melt it." Dimitri commented.

"Again, it has to do with Ancient Egyptian curses. The Millennium Charm was also protected heavily with undetectable magic to ensure the safety of the original seven, but unlike the other Items that were dangerous to possess while it was passed down through different hands… the Millennium Charm worked more in making its owner prosperous. Every owner that has been recorded of owning the Charm is rich. A very smart way of getting away from getting melted I might add."

"Truly, it works more as if it was a lucky charm. Too bad no wizards knew about this."

"Unlike the seven the Ministry knows about, the Charm, which had a mind of its own, carefully chooses its owner to be passed on to. It only has been in the hands of muggles or Balancers ever since its creation, can you imagine for nearly 5000 years it never got into the hands of half-blood or pure blood wizards? We only found it quite recently, but I dare say we shouldn't share its existence to other wizards so freely."

"Humph, it seems they had their own way in getting through the centuries." Dimitri smiled.

"I'd wish the five of us were here… you, me, Kyle, Jade and Axel. Pity, Axel is not with us now. Old habits die hard… don't they?" Föin sighed.

"Yet it bothers me who our real enemy is. From what I'm hearing from Seto's past it seems our war is more than just around the corner. I feel it's right on our doorstep." The Russian said darkly.

Föin frowned, "Did the Voldemort in the memory speak in Parseltongue?"

"Perfect to the last letter from what I heard from Seth."

"We'll have to find out who it really is. In the meantime, we'll need to wait what the memory of the other item holders bare."

"Are you saying it's happening to all the items?" Dimitri said unconvinced.

"The seven are evidently made as though they are pieces of a puzzle. One _will_ affect the other."

"Drat, the enemy is always unclear…we haven't even found our opponent!"

This time Föin said slowly, "Actually, we have… for some reason I have a hunch it may be the person who exiled and nearly destroyed us Balancers those thousand years ago…"

"What! Ugh… Does the world have to go through that again?" Dimitri gritted his teeth.

"I hope not. I don't want _that_ to be repeated over again." Föin sternly said.

"_Him_ or not… the war might turn out worse if we're not careful. Damn… things always mess up when you finally got somewhere…"

Föin looked at the sad face of his friend. Unlike him or the other Balancers who were immortal, Dimitri was the only one who kept an eye of his family tree. This time when he finally had traced the last of his descendants, another war was about to begin.

"Have you told him who you really are?" Föin asked.

"No." Dimitri said with a sad gaze. "I wouldn't think the great Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp would think I'm his great, great, great, great times seven grandfather. Though the bloodline spread to Japan , I still kept an eye."

Föin gave his friend a pat on the back, "I think Seto feels and knows you are related to him somehow."

"All in good time I guess."

Föin was about to comment on his friend when…

A polyphonic Nokia Ring tone rang out through the room…

"Sorry, it's mine." Föin said as he flipped his mobile phone out and put it to his ear.

_Cell phones always ring when you don't want them to…_

"Hello? Ah, the preparation for it is finished? Great, I'll meet you there in a few minutes." Föin said.

"What was that about?"

"Our Masters' meeting for the Order, Lenny the house elf said he already secured a good location."

Dimitri sweat dropped, "Why do I have a feeling it's apart of your crazy plans again?"

"You know me."

"Far too well…" Dimitri said sarcastically.

-------------------------------------------

_Inside the Millennium Ring_

_Beginning of October_

_Local Time (?) _

-------------------------------------------

Bakura frowned as he looked around the place inside the Millennium Ring; it never had acted this weird before. The amount of passageways inside it had doubled to or quadrupled to a degree and what had bothered the thief was the thickness of the shadows was obscuring his thief vision. The Ring was now similar to the puzzle as the entrances to the two soul rooms were fogged, the place had become a labyrinth. As one of the few who could control the Shadows, Bakura felt uneasy why the shadows were acting this way.

-((The shadows seem tense.))- Yami said as he walked through the portal and closed it behind him.

-((You two took your precious time.))- Bakura growled.

Seth simply cocked eyebrow as if he would say, 'It's personal'.

Marik on the other hand seemed rather pissed why he was dragged into this when it had nothing to do with him.

-((Can we get to the real info, then having a glaring contest?))- Malik said getting all of the yamis attention.

Seth sighed, -((You may have noticed the shadows are uneasy.))-

-((We're pretty aware of that priest.))- Marik said irritably. –((It's that other feeling that's making me chill. It's as if the Shadows were…were…))-

-((_Scared?_))- Yami said softly. –((The Shadows are bunching up like this because something frightens them.))-

Even now Malik shivered, -((What on earth would scare the Shadows? I-I mean, all this time it was the Shadows that lead us here.))-

The tomb robber was wide eyed as the realization that something frightened had the Shadows. Bakura had a feeling that behind all of this wasn't Voldemort, but a far stronger enemy. He knew far too well what Voldemort's minions were like, the Shadows had no difficulty in taking care of the Death Eaters, and yet right now the Shadows were anxious. Being a strategist as well, Bakura figured that the Shadows weren't bunching up like this because they were only scared… but they were protecting their masters, they were worried sick anything might happen.

-((Now what?))- Marik asked.

-((We'll follow Bakura.))- Yami answered. –((Lead the way tomb robber; you're the one who's connected with Ryou.))-

Bakura didn't say anything but only gave the pharaoh a nod and ran into the direction he felt where Ryou might be. The others followed behind with their Millennium Items shinning the way, which gave slight comfort to the Shadows to calm down and disperse making their vision and path clearer to follow. While they were running, Bakura only gave glances at the four behind him. For this thief, it was probably the last thing on his mind about joining the pharaoh a year ago or the fact he was so… human had never occurred to him. The only thing that had fueled him all these years was revenge on the pharaoh and trying to steal the Items for himself. '_Why the heck am I thinking about this?'_ Bakura thought. Fate was harsh in the past (his memories of the massacre in Kul Eruna) and Bakura always had known it would be in the future, he just never thought at times it would be so _forgiving_, even if it meant it was a moment.

The moment that Bakura referred to was the time he had stolen from the Ministry of Magic. It was that moment he realized that he wasn't the only one who loved to steal and the excitement of not trying to get caught. It was funny, really. All those times the thief stole something he never really shared his feelings openly about what he felt when he stole something, not even in the ancient times when he was labeled as the King of Thieves. And yet with Ethan… it was different, he felt no pressure at all. Bakura then raised an eyebrow, '_That's odd… I always had closed up because I never wanted to show it in front of… wait… Ryou?'_ It seemed that the memories of Battle City were coming up in his memory again. During those times he realized how violent he was to his host. Bakura always had taken over Ryou's body with force and yet at the Ministry…

Ryou had voluntarily given his body without a doubt to control for Bakura…

Bakura nearly tripped in his tracks as that went through his head, but quickly disguised it in front of the others. Truth to be told, Bakura never felt as happy in his whole life then the days they were preparing to steal from the Ministry and on the day that Bakura's 7 had succeeded in making the history of Scrimgeour's worst parts in his career. As a thief, he had accomplished far more than that… and yet when he looked at everything he had done before (like challenging the pharaoh those 5000 years ago) and what he felt at the Ministry… seemed as if the feelings past nearly meant nothing to him now. Bakura cursed to himself why all of a sudden he was thinking all of those things. '_Feelings are ridiculous.'_ Bakura convinced himself. And yet the tomb robber still questioned in his head why were those 'emotions' were driving him mad.

'Damn it hikari… why do you have to cause me so much trouble…' Bakura thought as he gritted his teeth.

-------------------------------------------

_Ryou's Soul Room_

_Beginning of October_

_Local Time (?)_

--------------------------------------------

After the yamis and Malik had found the right door to Ryou soul room, they couldn't believe their eyes, as there was a portal that had ripped through one of its walls. Seth was even nervous looking at the situation, since he didn't recall about going into Seto's soul room and seeing a large scar within it. The priest and his light had been immediately transported to the memory, which only meant one thing…

War was upon them.

The items couldn't afford to risk their magic being exposed too much and were putting up their defensive mechanisms to the maximum. The Ring had taken high security measures to do this, but the thief was not happy at all about the Ring's hostile behavior. And who'd of thought Zork was bad… the enemy they were going to face next was worrying the Shadows… it didn't take long to make the Items go crazy.

Instinctively Bakura raced towards the portal followed by Yami, Seth, Malik and Marik…

-------------------------------------------

_Somewhere in the United Kingdom_

_A small town near Glasgow_

_Midnight (Local Time)_

--------------------------------------------

The five nearly toppled to the ground and shuddered when they saw what was in front of them…

The smell of greenish red rotted corpses had filled their lungs and it was hard to breathe in any air. In front of them were the dead bodies of men, women, and children that clearly had been killed, tortured, and even worse cases some of the bodies had been mutilated. The conditions of the bodies were gruesome that most of them had been infested with maggots clearly showing the odd and yet rapid inhuman decay.

The stench was so thick in the air that it sent Malik shivering uncontrollably and he was trying hard not to throw up. Marik was trying to control himself… trying not to turn into a killer. Those emotions of hatred and vengeance were starting to swell inside of him again. The darker tomb keeper was very sure if he took another step into this memory he'd go mad. 'Shit…' Marik gritted his teeth and held his forehead while he tried to suppress the urge to kill. The last thing he wanted was to become mad because of his surroundings, but the bloodlust inside of him was clearly trying to make it's was out.

Looking at the condition of Malik and Marik, Yami was positive they couldn't go forward with the memory. Even Yami himself was having difficulty in standing and trying not to get affected with his surroundings. This was just as worse as his own memory in Egypt . Yami's senses were overwhelming him. But Ryou was somewhere within the memory, and maybe something far worse had happen to him. The pharaoh then started to walk slowly over to Bakura who also had the same idea in mind. They had to find Ryou ASAP.

Seth had the same difficulty as the pharaoh in avoiding staying in one place. It was hard to get all the thoughts of the dead bodies out of your mind when they surrounded you by 360 degrees. For some reason, he felt rather glad he wasn't one of those corpses. As sick as that sounded when he should feel pity, even the human brain is selfish in many ways at times when we don't realize it. He only glanced at the tomb keeper and psycho before followed the pharaoh, reassuring them that they will end the memory quickly.

Bakura indeed never looked into Yami's or Seth's gaze as his condition was not as good as Malik's. Something inside of him was driving him mad. Instantly, the thief broke into a run… the only thing he had in mind was finding Ryou. He wanted to end all of this quickly; he didn't want to see anymore of this. Truthfully he wanted to puke on the spot… his heart was beating rapidly… his adrenaline spilled out of him in waves… his senses were going insane…

_FLASH_

Screams had filled the air of his village… people running for their lives…

'_MOM! DAD!'_ The younger version of him shouted helplessly as he saw them succumb to the ground lifeless. Blood was everywhere… the ground, the walls… his whole village… All that mattered to him… his life… his family… his friends… _Everything_… was destroyed.

_FLASH_

Bakura halted abruptly as his knees fell to the ground and stared in horror.

'_Shit'._

The whole town that night was the in the same state as his village… In front of him was the one who caused all of this… _Voldemort…_

Just a few feet away, the real Ryou was screaming madly in pain holding his head as the traumatic experience of the past was playing over and over in front of him…

'_The smaller child Ryou was hiding in one of the ruins of the house not too far off, witnessing the interrogation of his own mother. He was trembling in fear, crying quietly, trying to gaze away from the scene… trying not to heed the cry and yells of his tortured mother. Sadly, his methods were useless… echoes of cracking bones, blood vessels exploding, and skin ripping… and a voice of merciless dark lord…' _

"_WHERE IS THE MILLENIUM ITEM?"_ the dark lord seethed.

The mother only smiled at her attacker mockingly only to receive another blow. She tumbled to the ground, but gave the most lovingly smile at her son who was hidden that she knew would be her last. With all the effort she could do, she sent out her last wish…

-((Live Ryou, take care of the Ring for me. It was entrusted to you. Whatever happens, I'll be with you… always…))-

The next scene was far beyond anything that killing was meant to do… Bakura even shuddered, cursed, and closed his eyes as the sound of instant ripping and blood spurting… the second he opened his eyes he saw hundreds of pieces of ragged cut flesh in a pool of blood on the ground replacing the figure that was alive…

_He broke. _

_He lost it. _

_He went berserk._

Without even thinking Bakura was launching an attack with shadow magic, his mind was elsewhere… his instincts of hatred were controlling him. He screamed like a maniac… He didn't even care what was going to happen to the man in front of him, all he wanted to do was kill him in the most torturous way possible…

"Bakura! Stop!" Yami shouted as he held the thief from going further with his actions.

"LET ME GO PHARAOH!" Bakura yelled. "I'M GOING TO KILL _HIM_! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT STOPPING ME!"

"You baka thief! Get a grip! This is a memory! Wake up Bakura!" The pharaoh countered. Yami mentally would have agreed to kill the dark lord on spot if this scene weren't a mere memory. However, if Bakura launched any shadow magic attack of any kind would result disastrous to his hikari's memory and well being. Thankfully, the priest had come to the scene.

"Seth! Get Ryou out of here!" Yami ordered.

Seth obediently knocked Ryou out and carried the teen's limp body away back towards the portal they entered. He didn't seem to want to look at the scene that was looping itself, seeing it once was enough… he retreated quickly from the memory with Malik and Marik that was near the portal entrance. All that was left now was the pharaoh and the thief…

Yami was struggling to keep Bakura on hold; for one thing, holding down an angered thief was not easy. "Bakura! Do I have to blast you with a spell? Wake-"

'_WHACK!'_

A punch had landed squarely on Yami's face forcing him to the ground. He groaned as the pain as was real, he looked up at startled on how the thief was now lost in his emotions.

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW? WHAT DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE EVERYTHING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU? " Bakura cried out.

Yami could only cast aside a sympathetic glance at the thief.

"**YOUR** ROYAL FAMILY TOOK IT AWAY FROM ME! IF YOU EVEN CARED, YOU'D AT LEAST LET ME TAKE THIS GUY OUT!"

"Bakura… I…"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Bakura raged. "Why… Why…"

Yami stared at the thief concerned and in shock, for the first time, tears went down the thief's eyes. However, the Pharaoh stood there silently in front of the scene of the memory that replayed itself over and over.

"DON'T STOP ME! WHY WOULD YOU EVEN KNOW HOW IT FEELS-"

"_I don't know anything."_ Yami cut the thief in mid sentence curtly and stood up from his spot.

"You-You-"

"I don't know anything, Bakura." Yami repeated himself as he raised his voice.

"THEN STAY OUT OF MY FUCKING WAY!"

At first glance another punch from Bakura was going to hit Yami again, but this time the pharaoh had beaten him to it. The thief was sent a few feet away, though he remained standing. Yami was aware Bakura's killing intent was swelling inside him, but his own anger was rising to the surface as well.

"YOU NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHAT HAPPENED!" Bakura flared. "THEN WHY BOTHER ME!"

"HOW WOULD I UNDERSTAND-, THEIF-, IF YOU WON'T EVEN TELL ME! YOU KNOW WHY I'M BOTHERING YOU? WHY I'M STOPPING YOU?" Yami roared.

Silence…

"It's because _I want to help you, damn it._"

'_What?',_ the thief stared in disbelief.

"I know perfectly well how much torture that dark lord should get as much as you do, but this is Ryou's memory." Yami said intently. "If you really want revenge on _him_ for what he reminded you of your worst past, and the harming of your host… _I will help you, _you needn't ask. All I ask you now is to _trust me_."

Bakura only looked at Yami long and hard. "After everything that's happened? After I tried to kill you, torture you, and kill everyone that was related to you? Why should I trust you pharaoh? And what reason you want to trust me?"

"What's a matter thief? Haven't learned your history? It was a simple matter of distrust amongst the priests that Egypt fell into chaos. And what I'm seeing it may happen to us right now." Yami stated. "I don't want to regret that something I couldn't do in the past right now, regret it for the last 5000 years or in the future; it'll most likely kill me mentally."

"And what if I betray you?" Bakura asked carefully.

"I wouldn't regret it; or more correctly," Yami paused. "Even though you do betray me we won't become sworn enemies again because I trust you."

Bakura growled. "Stop that! Now you're making me guilty."

Yami chuckled. "It's called being human, Bakura. The darkest part of the heart of humans is distrust. Once it takes you, it's hard to come back."

"…"

"And since we're given a chance to live in the mortal realm again why not forge that trust? It's never too late to try, seeing we're given another chance."

'…………………………………'

'…………………………………'

'…………………………………'

'…………………………………'

'…………………………………'

There was about a good five minutes silence between them before Bakura gave up and snorted. "Fine, you win this time… Keh… since when did I go all soft?"

"Maybe Ryou's antics are finally rubbing you in." Yami joked. "It's so unlike you being all quiet and reserved."

"SHUT UP!" the thief snapped instantly.

"That's the spirit, or at least the spirit of the King of Thieves I know of." Yami grinned. "Let's get away from this blasted memory then."

-------------------------------------------

_Ryou's Soul Room_

_Beginning of October_

_Local Time (?)_

--------------------------------------------

When the last two yamis arrived from what they were seeing only the priest was left beside Ryou's soul room bed. The other two were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are Malik and Marik?" Yami asked.

"It seems they won't be joining us to rescue Yugi." Seth sighed. For a moment the priest looked towards the pharaoh and the thief since there were clear markings they had somehow managed to punch each other during his absence. "I take it things are taken care of?"

"Yes, Seth. We should hurry then." Yami said and pointed his finger on a wall, opening a portal leading to the puzzle. "Go ahead to secure the place, I'll join you in a moment."

Seth didn't say anything; he simply obeyed and went through the portal… though the priest did have a hunch it was meant something was important only between his pharaoh and the thief.

"So, your business is yours, and his business is his?" Bakura asked. "I'll take it as trust?"

Yami nodded. "And what ever secret that happened between in the memory between us stays with me. Are you coming?"

This time Bakura finally made his decision without a doubt. "Nah, I got to take care of a certain landlord." Bakura said eyeing his host.

"I understand." Yami agreed and walked towards the portal.

Bakura cut in before he entered. "And- Pharaoh-"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks… for trusting me."

Yami gave the thief a rather rare smile. "Your welcome, and… do invite me on your pranking nights… the castle seems to be rather gloomy these days…"

"That, you can trust in me." Bakura smirked as he saw Yami disappeared into portal.

Bakura couldn't help feeling a whole wave of gladness washing over him. 'So that's the feeling that gave me happiness during the robbing at the ministry… to trust someone without a doubt…'

-------------------------------------------

_Inside the Millennium Puzzle_

_Beginning of October_

_Local Time (?) _

-------------------------------------------

Yami entered the portal with a shock on his face… The puzzle was in turmoil…

"I had the same face as you did when I first saw it." Seth commented.

"What's the situation?" the pharaoh asked.

"The shadows are wild." Seth said as a bead of sweat trickled down his face. "What memory that's in stored, might not be too appealing for us."

Yami couldn't agree more. It seemed as if an earthquake hit the whole place; most of the stairways and door was blocked by rubble. The shadows themselves were swirling all over; panicked, out of place and out of control. The pharaoh immediately called forth light to shine from the puzzle around his neck while the priest helped with the power of the rod. They managed to calm down a fraction of the shadows; at least it was passable and went in the search of Yugi. The pharaoh's mind was racing; one thing that had worried him the most was that all the memories were related to the hikaris, not the yamis. Apparently those who were affected were the ones that had two souls. First Kaiba, than Ryou and then Yugi; could've Yuri and Minori have been affected as well?

Seth as though he read the pharaoh's mind said, "Their memories were shown long before our hosts."

"You mean Minori and Yuri?" Said Yami in revelation. "How long ago?"

"The last two to three weeks. I wasn't aware of it either until Kisara told me after what happened to Seto." Said Seth worried. "Possibly there's something behind those memories. What it is I'm not so sure of it yet."

"It's something to do with the 'Voldemorts' in all the memories. They all possibly can't be Horcruxes by any chance. He's _our_ enemy, the enemy that we've been looking for."

"He couldn't be…"

"The same enemy that nearly wiped out all of the Balancers a thousand years ago," Yami stated. "And he's very much alive."

"But what could he possibly want with the Items? Wasn't destroying nearly all the Balancers enough to get us Shadow Casters out of the way?" Seth asked.

"I don't know, but we might find out more if we keep searching. Hurry, we still need to find Yugi!"

The pharaoh and the priest both hastily pressed on forward to where the hikari's soul room was. It wouldn't have been quite a distance if it weren't for the rubble and destroyed walls that were in the way. The moment they reached the soul room door, both of the ancient spirits could only gape not trusting what they saw. The whole room was now a portal and the portal was spreading.

"And I thought Ryou's was bad." Seth commented. "I thought too soon."

"Here goes nothing." Yami said as he hopped into the portal.

---------------------------------------

_Tokyo, Japan_

_A small house in the Suburbs_

_Nighttime (Local Time)_

----------------------------------------

The two ex-rulers of ancient Egypt landed in a suburban area of Japan they did not know. Certainly it wasn't Domino but in Tokyo . Yami frantically looked around the area in search of his hikari. It was odd to find the area deserted as if that night no one was at home.

"The place seems to quiet for a suburban area in Tokyo ." Yami commented.

Seto then pointed to a local newspaper on the ground. "I doubt it, look at the date."

Apparently it was the 31st of December. "New Years Eve huh? I thought the memories were supposed to be on the same date. "

"The Items must have manipulated people's minds or anyone that had contact with our hikaris. I don't think manipulating dates is that hard."

Yami nodded gravely. "Right, we have to find Yugi."

Yami and Seth walked around the neighborhood quickly scanning any indication of an attack or killings around the place. However to their disappointment, they had found none. It was as if the whole memory was just an ordinary memory. Seth gritted his teeth, as they found nothing, he wasn't satisfied… hell no. Not when the puzzle's insides were clearly showing a far worse condition then the Ring. Yami on the other hand was getting frustrated in searching his hikari. The pharaoh truthfully didn't want his hikari to see the memory; no memory so cruel should be remembered by anyone. Finally, around another two blocks they found the real Yugi standing in front of a park, policemen and medical workers were about trying to secure the location. His eyes were hollow, stoned, tears freely flowing down his cheeks… he was empty, void of emotions.

"Yugi!" Yami shouted in relief to find his partner. "Yugi, are you all right?" the darker half repeated as he walked.

Seth followed cautiously behind Yami.

Yugi didn't even answer.

They both turned to where Yugi was staring.

On the night of New Years Eve where families should be seen celebrating, was replaced by a massacre. Just at the time when they were looking forward to a new and happy year, everything these people hoped for was destroyed with the end their lives. Bodies had littered the ground; their eyes empty of life and the sakura trees were tainted with blood of the people who were slaughtered mercilessly. Yet out of all the people who died, two had survived. They both looked like Yugi.

"Yami… _my parents_… _alive_… but… but…" Yugi choked, as he was unwilling to finish the sentence. The hikari shivered uncontrollably; Yami had gone to Yugi's side immediately to support him.

The pharaoh stared at Yugi's parents sick. They both had lost their souls; both of them were just empty shells. They moved as if nothing controlled them, they were puppets without any strings of life. There was now a new heat of anger that was growing inside him. He never felt this angry before. He seethed as he tried to keep his temper down. 'I'll _make_ that person pay.' Yami vowed to himself. '_I'll make sure that person will get the worst torture as possible_.'

Seth also had that same feeling inside. He could never have thought how someone easily slaughters so many people without a thought. His host, the pharaoh's hikari, and every balancer that were related to them… everything… because of _him_.

"We should return." The priest suggested.

"Right." Yami agreed.

----------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle , The Astronomy Tower_

_Sieg Innes Sinistra's Office_

_Mid-October_

_That Night… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------------

After the incident, Seth had left them quickly since he was only able to stay far from his host for two hours. With the pharaoh's permission, he would tell Föin personally what happen in the memories. After all the intrusion, it seemed their dorm was quiet that night. Bakura and Yami were busy taking care of their hikaris. As for Malik and Marik, they both stayed silent lost in their own thoughts. The next few days, the three transfers didn't talk much to one another… it was a moment they all needed time alone.

The transfers finally made the decision to see Sieg and consult him about what had happened inside the memories. Though they had told him the week before, the transfers couldn't meet up privately due to Sieg's academic courses, schedules and even detentions with students and the teacher's meetings at Hogwarts. It may have sounded time consuming to meet up much later then anticipated, but it was important to keep their guard up and not to attract any wanted attention. Getting chased by fans was already proving the fact how hard enough to speak privately; the last thing they wanted was to get heard by the staff of Hogwarts or the other occupants of the castle. That of course meant the members of the OotP; though mostly the main ones they were keeping their watch on were Dumbledore and more importantly, Snape. Dumbledore at times was found not present at school during most of the week so it wasn't something to worry about; however, Snape however, was on the constant watch on what was happening around the school. The transfers of course were not an exception, considering that they were new to the Order of the Phoenix . Being new also meant that Snape hardly knew anything about them, which meant he definitely had an eye on them since they were close to Harry Potter. Not because the transfers can be said as potential threats to the Death Eaters, but they (Yugi and co.) were very aware that the Dark Lord's underlings might want recruit them being so-called duellists that had strategic minds in controlling an army that was sure to win.

After the incident of the memory, Yami had taken care most of Yugi's classes during the day. The mental fatigue in Yugi was still there as Yami felt often a rather soft groan from his mind link. Though if Yugi were well enough, Yami would let his hikari come out on a limited basis. Well… as long as Yugi could go without passing out. Yami sighed in relief that they finally had a chance to meet Sieg again. Since Sieg knew about Hogwarts the most, Yami was comforted by the presence of the Element Master. Not just because they were both Balancers, but Yami found that whatever problem they were having at Hogwarts he could discuss the matter freely, without worry and trust. Or one could quite say having a decent conversation was _that_ hard since his duellist status leaked out without anyone trying to make a gossip out of it.

Luckily, Ryou's memory seizure didn't give affects as bad as the pharaoh's hikari. Though Bakura would literally force his was way controlling Ryou's body if the white haired hikari was stubborn. Bakura snorted how his hikari was trying to show how he didn't needed help from the yami when it was _dead obvious_ in front of the thief's eyes he was struggling in trying to maintain his footsteps. 'Sure… try to look strong.' Bakura rolled his eyes thinking. 'The next thing you know it, I'll be doing DADA homework,' Bakura scoffed. The thief wished very badly to stop his hikari from forcing himself while at the same time, maintain his patience for the critter. Of course everyone had a limit in patience, and the thief's was thinning out pretty quickly over the week. There were even times, the tomb robber was tempted to knock out cold his hikari so that he wouldn't have to be so stubborn… yet if the thief did so, he was going to risk doing all of Ryou's school work. Despite being a fully-fledged strategist and a person who easily digested information, he wasn't the academic type like the pharaoh or literate like Malik. What Bakura had hoped was the next meeting with Sieg would calm down his hikari a bit.

Marik was having the same problem as Bakura with his hikari. Except… on a higher level… There were in many cases where Malik seemed to be reluctant to talk to the psycho as if he was the one was holding something back. Marik couldn't quite put a finger on why the hell his hikari went quiet and locked his mouth shut on him since they entered Ryou's memory of the past. Wanting a straight answer from his hikari, it wasn't an odd thing to see Marik and Malik fighting over who was going to take over the body (say if they were the pharaoh and thief) while he was in one of the ends of the corridors. Though some ghosts who had heard him speculated he was fighting with himself (which… he was) and even the fans were spread an outrageous rumour of Malik doing it to enhance his mentality for duelling (which sent the tomb robber rolling on the floor with laughter and Yami in a bored sigh). Marik was frustrated with his hikari's attitude, though made a very LARGE mental note in his head to not fully explode… If that happened, most likely the pharaoh and the thief would not hesitate to kill him or send him to the Shadow Realm being in his cruellest form. The last thing he wanted was turning back into the psycho killer he was in Battle City… he actually didn't know why he still had those feelings of revenge, malice and even hatred inside of him… yet it was compressed to a degree by his hikari and not aimed towards the pharaoh anymore. Who the person or group was, Marik had no idea. 'Why is he not telling me the truth?' Marik snarled thinking to himself.

When the six finally met Sieg, they were given an impression the element master wasn't in good health either. His face was rather pale; he had dark round corners around the eyes, and seemed tired to say the least.

-((And I thought we had it bad.))- Bakura commented on the element master.

"Quite right." Sieg said tiredly. "Just been collecting Dumbledore's memory about Voldemort, seeing you guys needed a break. We don't have to discuss it now, but there's a Masters meeting soon."

-((When?))- Yami asked.

"This week." Sieg replied.

Marik gaped. -((WHAT? Ra! What would cause the whole Order to want a meeting so quickly?))-

"Does it have anything to do with our memories, Sieg?" Yugi asked quietly.

"…Yeah, it does." He nodded nervously.

"I wonder why we couldn't remember our memories from before." Ryou said to no one in particular.

Sieg rubbed his chin, "I'm not exactly sure. But it may be the items were aware they were in peril. It makes sense they would make their destined bearer forget until it's the right time to know."

"Still Scrimgeour appearing in our memories is bothering me… or the Items are telling us…" Yugi trailed off.

"War will come sooner then we have expected."

"How long is _soon_?" asked Malik looking at Sieg intently.

"I can't say for sure, but… probably at the end of this school year." Said Sieg. "Even if the school is reopened for the next year, I doubt we'll have a chance to come back here. We certainly don't have much of a choice; our lives depend on what we could do here and now. The more we know about those Horcruxes, the better… but even then we have little chance in using that information against our main enemy."

"Who would have thought Voldemort was just a pebble…" Ryou commented. "Our enemy is a mountain!"

Yugi looked worried, "Is there anything we could do now to improve our magic? Though we won't have too many problems with the Death Eaters, our main enemy would most likely have a higher class of spells."

-((I'd have to agree with you, abiou. We certainly won't have the luxury of time when the war starts; it's a better possibility to start now then regret later. Do you happen to know any spells that are in level to our main enemy?))- Yami questioned.

Sieg was silent for the moment looking at the other balancers in front of him. From their faces, they certainly were serious in wanting to win the war. "… I do. If you wish to learn them, I'll let Föin know." The element master paused before he continued, "But the spells are highly dangerous. Not to just to others, but mainly to yourselves; if you don't do it right then just expect your life to last in a matter of seconds."

Bakura's eyes popped out, -((It's _that_ lethal?))-

Malik seemed to have a bored look on his face at the thief, "… they are called 'high class' spells for a reason. Larger power, the larger the risk in using it."

-((No large amount of power comes without a sacrifice.))- Marik added.

"Correct." Sieg agreed. "They're the strongest and greatest spells being created by our kind. Each of the four clans of the Balancers had their own highest magic spell and each of them considerably powerful to cause an imbalance on our world if used carelessly."

"What are they?" Ryou asked curiously.

"For us Elemental Masters, our strongest spell is called '_Time Compression'_. It requires a lot of energy and vast control of all eight elements. Literally meaning by using the spell we have the ability to compress time itself or you could say a spell that nearly causes time to stop. Should it be conjured incorrectly the user is forever stuck in that period of time or everything around you will never move."

"For Soul Summoners, their strongest spell is called '_the Grand Summon'_. Unlike the ordinary summons that can only summon spirits around us, this summon can summon the dead in spirit form from the afterlife as an army. This spell requires the user to have a strong will and mentality, if not they would be driven insane by the dead spirits."

"For the Alter-matters, it's called '_Turn to Nothingness'_. This spell literally makes the victim non-existent, and because of that… it needs a great deal of skill in controlling matter. Consequences in lost of control will wipe out its user's mind, or you could say similar to a dementor's kiss."

"As for the Shadow Casters, which has the most fatal spell is called '_the Coming of Dawn & Twilight'_. It's-"

-((Wait! Time out, how come we don't know this spell?))- Bakura interrupted. –((I mean; it wasn't there in Egypt 5000 years ago.))-

-((Simple, it was created _after _Ancient Egypt, thief.))- Yami answered. –((Though I would argue that the basics of the spell was already there during our time. Am I right Sieg?))-

"That's one way to put it."

-((What makes it so fatal? I mean the other three are already as strong as they are.))- Marik protested. –((…Don't tell me… you're seriously saying that spell-))-

"-is the combination of the other three spells in addition of combining the powers of true light and darkness", Sieg finished. "The risks of the other spells are also carried on and with another risk adding to it, that you could create local nature hazards such as tsunamis, tornadoes, and earthquakes due to lack of control in balancing light and darkness."

"Shit! That's WAY too overboard." Malik exclaimed. "First you need to control the Three Realms ('Nature Elements', 'Change' and 'Life and Death') that are highly unstable, and if you don't die because of the user negative status… you'll be killed by the nature hazards anyway due to the lack of control with the last Realm (Light and Darkness)."

"I find the spell a bit too suicidal." Ryou agreed. "Come to think of it… has anyone ever _survived_ using that spell?"

"Err… the last person who cast it wasn't lucky enough. Still died though." The elemental master said nervously.

Yugi raised his hand, "Hold on, that means there was _someone_ who had survived. Whoever it was… it wasn't the last caster."

"Though I wouldn't count himof being 'alive'." Sieg shrugged.

-((Well, all we need to know now is how that person managed to pull it off))- Marik suggested.

Yami then asked, -((Who was this person?))-

"… _You _…" Sieg said simply.

"………………………………………………" the whole room went silent.

-((WHAT? You're joking! THE PHARAOH? The _one_ right here?))- The thief pointed at Yami in bewilderment.

Sieg sweat dropped, "Didn't I say he wasn't quite 'alive'?"

-((The battle I had with Zork…))- Yami realized. –((But didn't I create a Horcrux?))-

Sieg smiled. "Precisely, Zork was defeated using that spell and you escaped death by using a Horcrux to ensure should Zork threaten the future, you would be there to stop him."

-((But I thought Yami only managed _sealed_ Zork. Not _kill_ him.))- Marik disagreed.

"That's because the spell was created after." Yugi stated.

Ryou appeared to be lost and looked to Sieg, "Uh…explanation?"

"Again, it was what Yami and Yugi said: 'the spell was created after'. It means, Yami only created the main concept of the spell of fusing something that were opposites of each other. However since the spell was incomplete and was used at near death point, thus it ended up only sealing Zork in the puzzle. It was not until later the next generations of Shadow Casters perfected the spell to combine all Four Realms at once. This happened when our kind were at its peaks, and the result of our downfall."

"So, the Ministry of Magic was the one who knew about the spell." Malik said.

Sieg nodded gravely. "Hmm, I would have to agree it's too dangerous to use but I just don't like the fact they hunted all of us down like wild animals. As you all know the culprit who started it all is now alive. We could say if he does the same thing again we'll have to be prepared for a bumpy ride."

-((All the players are on the chessboard waiting for their roles to come… so what of the spells? Which do we learn?))- Bakura asked intently.

"For Ryou and Yugi, you both should stick to the same realm. Ryou, you'll learn the Grand Summoning with Ethan's help. Yugi, I'll teach to you personally. As for Malik, I know you can't learn the spell since it would be far too risky. In exchange, I could teach you other dark arts that would prove useful in handling those spells to defend others or yourself."

The three hikaris nodded and soon Sieg turned his attention to the yamis.

-((What do we do in the meantime?))- The pharaoh asked.

"I want you three to try and control Light magic. It maybe your opposing element, yet, if you're able to control both Light and Darkness at the same time and combine them in an attack… it would parry off most lethal attacks like the Avada Kedavra instantly without using too much power."

-((Sounds fair))- Yami agreed.

-((Great… more homework to do…))- Bakura mumbled.

-((No use in complaining, I'd rather get it over and done with. Plus, I'm not going to die happy regretting I didn't learn enough.))- Marik told the thief.

-((I'm not the academic type you know.))- The thief said annoyed.

Then the pharaoh said, -((But you are the strategist type. Be more 'strategic' _thief_…))-

-((Do you always have to beat me in an argument, _your highness_?))- Bakura pouted back.

-((Well… he does win nearly in _everything_…))- Marik added with a smirk.

-((Shut up Marik! One of these days I'll beat the pharaoh!))- Bakura snapped.

-((Not until doomsday you will!))- The pharaoh mocked.

Meanwhile the hikaris and the element master only chuckled at the three and secretly speaking in their own private link.

-(You have to admit; even after five thousand years, you'd have to question their maturity.)- Malik commented.

Ryou shook his head. -(Doubt it. You imagine being by yourself inside an item and thrust into boredom for those 5000 years? It's normal enough to want some else to talk to… even if they do annoy that person.)-

-(To 'annoy' is the understatement of the century for your yamis. It's more of a boxing ring for 'mockery' by the looks of it.)- Sieg said.

Yugi grinned widely, -(Nah, I think it's because they're yamis. They're meant to be deadly and mischievous at the same time.)-

----------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Quidditch Pitch_

_Mid-October_

_The Next Morning (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------

Finally, the day of the Quidditch match came. From what it looked from the hall, Harry seemed to be under a lot of pressure seeing that the students of Hogwarts (minus Slytherin) were betting high on Gryffindor. Though he had a hunch it was mainly because of the transfers. Hopefully Ron had believed he put the Felix Felicis into his pumpkin juice, with that, his team would be confident in beating Slytherin. Not that Harry was totally worried, to Harry's surprise the duellists were very great flyers and handled the trainings well. He was just trying to make sure if they won the game then people would at least didn't care about Dean coming into the Quidditch team, which many people were accusing him of picking his friends for the team.

The pitch was filled with supporters from the other houses. Though… if one stood from the staff's stand, you could point out a couple of fan clubs from the house stands. Ryou and Malik had an equal amount of fans, while Yugi's fans had the largest population. The only stand that had no fan clubs were the Slytherins… 'A bunch of egoistic bakas' Bakura commented. It seem as though since the most renowned duellists were in Gryffindor, they didn't have any fan clubs, nonetheless Malik argued that maybe that was because of Snape. Still some of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs have taken sides anyway, seeing that not all Hogwarts students were into Duel Monsters. One of the notable things you could hear was Luna Lovegood's roaring lion hat in the distance.

They knew all too well how the ex-potions master hated their guts. Snape must have not allowed at all of any Slytherins in siding with any fan club for that matter. Yugi was pretty sure they would be hunted down like road kill by Snape if they won the match. Ryou sweat dropped hoping their DADA grades didn't go on a down turn. Marik was on the other hand a bit- wait scrap that… EXTREMELY disappointed Malfoy couldn't play; the tomb keeper's twin kept on mumbling about something on the lines of '…damn, I could have tortured the kid with bludgers…'. Yami in contrast was enjoying himself on getting his mind off from things like the OotS, the Ministry, a new dark lord… he really needed a vacation mentally, even if it meant it was a brief Quidditch match.

The sky was clear that day, some of the main Slytherin players couldn't play and it seemed as though luck was on the Gryffindor's house that day. Or so one would think. Soon the match had started…

As the captains (Harry and Urquhart) shook hands, the balls were released from the trunk and on the sound of the whistle everyone was off the ground. Harry was mainly on the perimeter of the grounds searching for the snitch while keeping an eye on Harper, the Slytherin Seeker. Then there was a sound from the commentator's podium….

"Well, there they go, and I think we're all surprised to see the team that Potter's put together this year. Many thought, given Ronald Weasley's patchy performance as Keeper last year that he might be off the team, but of course, a close personal friendship with the Captain does help… Not to mention the amount of sixth years on the team all have a close relationship with the Captain added with the amount of Firebolts on the field…" said Zacharias Smith, a Hufflepuff player whom Harry disliked.

There was jeers and applause on the side of the Slytherins while the other side was booing (most came from the fan clubs). That comment of course had snapped the yamis patience immediately. Apparently not everyone could see their hikaris in spirit form, but they didn't seem to be too happy about that comment either. The yamis didn't even hesitate at all giving their most dangerous-murderous-intent-killing-glares towards the commentator.

The yamis looked at their hikaris for a rather lame 'permission'.

-(What? You think we like that insult!)- Malik growled.

Yugi and Ryou only gave a look, 'We're leaving it to you yamis.'

-((Let's kill him and those supporters!))- Bakura said grinning happily.

-((Thief, you're _too_ merciful. Torture them!))- Yami ordered.

Marik grinned, -((Well, you heard our highness' order, Bakura. Let's do this while we're in a good mood!))-

Since they were too busy disturbed by the Hufflepuff's comment. The Slytherin team was advancing into the Gryffindor territory. The three transfers zoomed after the Slytherins in hopes to stop their opponent's first goal.

"Oh, and here comes Slytherin's first attempt on goal, its Urquhart streaking down the pitch and-"

"- Weasley saves it, well, he's bound to get lucky sometimes, I suppose …"

'**_WHACK!'_**

Urquhart was spinning but recovered just in time before he hit the Slytherin's podium. There was a loud cheer from Ryou's fans on the ground and the thief waved to them making a couple of girls faint while more were cheering him on. Bakura wasn't satisfied with the hit, but it did manage to break apart one of his shoulder bones that was for sure. At least he won't be bothering the Pharaoh or any of the other Chasers for a while. At least not injured like that he could.

With half an hour of the game gone, Gryffindor were leading the game sixty to zero. Ron who made spectacular saves and Ginny who had scored four out of six goals made the commentator silent in wanting to further mock the two. Though Yugi/Yami who had swapped their bodies time to time only scored one of the goals, Zacharias couldn't comment on him since he was like a pivot for scoring goals; readily when needed and always moving into the most strategic place that the Quidditch grounds could offer.

Seeing he couldn't toy with the Chasers, the Keeper or the Seeker of Gryffindor… Zacharias Smith started on Bakura and Marik instead.

"Of course, Bakura and Marik isn't really the usual build for a Beater," Zacharias said loftily, "they've generally got a bit more muscle-'

Anyone who knew of what yamis were capable of would not even think about any way to harass them… let alone saying 'brawns' were _better_ then 'brains'…

_Big Mistake… _

Bakura and Marik already had that evil glint in their eyes. No one was stopping them now.

Harry even ordered Marik to shoot a bludger at the commentator. Bakura of course had gone in advance to carry out his plan.

"Aye, Aye! Captain!" Marik thrust a bludger straight towards the commentator podium.

This time Zacharias was screaming, "WHAT! WHAT'S GOING ON? IT'S A FAULT I TELL YOU! FAULT-"

Just as it was going to hit the Hufflepuff by a few millimetres of his nose, it made a sharp turn and hit a Slytherin Beater that was aiming for the other bludger to Dean.

Marik smiled proudly, "Whoops, I think I over did it."

"Ehem, okay it wasn't a fault…" which was greeted by laughter amongst the stands.

Bakura was already in place for that beater and hit another bludger aiming at the Hufflepuff commentator again.

"AAHHH! ANOTHER FAULT! FAULT! FAULT-" This time Zacharias' Hufflepuff scarf was clean cut by the bludger into two but the bludger that was aimed very accurately and beautifully made an impact on the Slytherin Seeker, Harper instead.

"Double whoops," Bakura made the most angelically face he could ever muster of Ryou scratching his head.

Then both yamis gave a smile towards the commentator that was saying, 'You do that again and you'll know what will happen.'

It was as though Gryffindor could do no wrong; more goals being score in courtesy from Ginny, Yami/Yugi and Dean… untouchable bludgers for the Slytherin beaters because of Bakura and Marik (even their hikaris joined in mid point of the game and managed to hit some of the other Chasers off their brooms) and nice saves from Ron. Now the Snitch was sighted and Harry was fighting with Harper for it. Yami, who trusted that Harry would get the golden ball, smirked with a plan in mind, gave a glance at the thief plus the psycho who were smiling too broadly, and flew over to Ginny who still had a Quaffle in her hand.

"Ginny?"

"What's up?"

"Did you know there is a rule of broom flying about accidents that happen… _unintentionally_?" Yami emphasised on the last word.

Ginny looked at the duellist in mild interest. "I'm listening…"

"_That's right_… you see…"

The next minute of the scene, Harry had caught the Snitch, the whistle ended the game, and the stands erupted into cheers. Gryffindor had won; Harry was soon pounded by Ron, Yugi, Ryou, Malik, and Dean for their victory.

-----------------------

"Ginny, where're you going?" yelled Harry, who saw Ginny fly past them until, with an almighty crash; she collided with the commentator's podium. As the crowed shrieked and laughed, the Gryffindor team landed beside the wreckage of wood under which Zacharias was feebly stirring; Harry heard Ginny saying blithely to an irate Professor McGonagall, "Forgot to brake Professor, sorry."

–_HP & H-BP, Chapter 14 Felix Felicis, Pg.278-279, British cover version-_

-----------------------

However Madam Hooch didn't think too highly of this act. That's when Yami came in…

"Flying Broom Rule 256, Professor," Yami said calmly. "When a player forgets to break with a broom due happiness in winning a match, it isn't considered as a foul for the next proceeding matches." Though mentally Yami had added, 'Pity they aren't familiar with rules of soccer. I doubt they would even know who David Beckman is. His curve type kicks were sure useful in making an impression for the thief and psycho that's one thing for sure.'

The professor looked at Yami first then the rulebook. "It seems we have no problems then."

'_BANG!' _

'_BANG!'_

This time Zacharias woke up quickly to avoid being hit by the two bludgers that were… trying to get acquainted with him …

The Gryffindor only looked at the coach confusedly. Though three of them (six to be exact) were behind it anyway. Seeing that her students had won the match, Professor McGonagall said, "Well, if they were bewitched… the user would have eye contact. I think everyone is waiting for all you at the Gryffindor Common room." She gave a small wink, dismissed them off the podium. They changed in the changing room and after were instantly greeted by a cheering crowd saying their congratulations.

The Quidditch coach looked at the Hufflepuff running like a mad chicken on the field. It was true; all of their wands were locked up in the changing room. Too bad the coach wasn't aware that the transfers we capable of wand-less magic. She looked to his watch; apparently, she had an appointment to attend and she was not allowed to be late. She took a small glance to the pitch again at the commentator…

"He could use a few laps…" Madam Hooch decided and went on with her business.

Meanwhile the Gryffindor Common Room was crowded as a party for the winners of the match. Sadly Yugi, Ryou, and Malik were too busy with the crowd to notice that Hermione, Ron and Harry were in a fight again…

-------------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, The Library_

_Mid-October_

_Another Morning in Hogwarts… (Local Time)_

---------------------------------------------

Hermione Granger was in a grumpy mood, nose in the air… striding in an angry walk… a snort from her face… could one say more? The girl was just annoyed of the act of a certain Weasley, how dared the red head boy say she was… well… for being such a snob.

She went to her reading books again, ignoring the empty library due to the lack of students. It was a Sunday and many of the other students would be outside. Hermione sat at the most hidden and far corner table sighed as she flipped a large thick book in front of her that literally covered her face from view. She took another few books from her bag, and dumped them on the desk. Without even caring she took a random book and opened the cover, but before she even read anything, tear spilled from her eyes to her cheeks and landed on the page.

Hermione never had felt hurt in her entire life. She had done everything so she could help Ron out. But what did the Weasley do? Turn back on her that's what. He went straight into Lavender Brown's lap.

_Xx … Hey, are you okay Hermione? …_ _xX_ , a familiar writing came out of the book she had just open. _Xx … Why are you crying? … xX_

Hermione was startled and realized she had opened the book about the Balancers by mistake. Axel had written to her, and she found it impolite not to reply back.

'_It's nothing, really.'_ Hermione wrote back trying to shrug her sadness.

_Xx … Nothing? I doubt that. But… I won't push it if you don't want to talk about it. How about we talk about something else? Hobbies, games or well you know…fun stuff? … xX_ , the reply came back.

The brainy girl smiled as the book in front of her was trying to cheer her up. Who would have thought a book would cheer you up in a middle of a library?

_Xx … See? You look nicer when you smile, y'know. … xX_, the book added

'_How can you exactly see me if you don't have eyes?'_ Hermione joked.

Then the writing came up pretty quickly as if the person inside the book was enthusiastic…

_Xx … This book has a charm on it that let's me see the outside world. I'm not dead in any way; 'I'm only concealed inside here. Similar on what you guys say a transfiguration spell kind of thing … xX._

This of course had caught Hermione's interest as she wrote quickly, '_Why can't you change back? I mean, can't you?'_

_Xx … I could. But… I need to have made contact with another person for a few months before I can get out. Its how the spell works. … xX _

It was then it occurred to Hermione that maybe she could ask more about the Balancers, '_What type of Balancer are you? Element Master, Alter Matter, Soul Summoner or Shadow Caster?' _

_Xx … A cocktail mix my dear; every one of them. … xX_ the writing flowed in smoothly as though Axel seemed to smirk.

'_But I thought you were a muggle born!'_

_Xx … 'Muggle born doesn't mean we can't get special abilities or talents right? Those who are mix blood aren't rare in the Balancers. Though I'm more of a natural Element Master and Shadow Caster, then Soul Summoner or Alter Matter. … xX_

'_You mean the abilities depend on the Balancer?'_ Hermione asked.

_Xx … Right you are brainy girl. … xX_

'_I'm not that brainy.'_ Hermione pouted as she wrote with a tiny bit of force.

_Xx … Admit it honey. You are B-R-A-I-N-Y with a capital 'B'. You've read at least one hundred and sixty thick books from this library since you first step into Hogwarts. Plus another two hundred lesser books… I've counted; you can't fool me. He he. …xX_

Hermione's eyes went wide, '_How do you know how much I read?' _

_Xx … From every book you touch. My ability as an Alter Matter lets me know who has touched what in this library. … xX_

This made Hermione thinking, was it possible this book had existed since the Four Founders came to school? If she wasn't wrong, Professor Slughorn had said that they separated just at the same time as the Balancers were being hunted down. Was there a possibility that Axel knew the Four Founders? Or was he even a student who used to go Hogwarts? One thing for sure, Axel had lived during that time… the time where magic had began to erupt in Europe .

'_How long have you been here anyway? I mean in Hogwarts?'_ Hermione asked the book carefully.

This time the writing was slower, as if Axel was hesitating or unsure what to say, _Xx … since it was built. I used to teach here, but well… it changed after us Balancers had been hunted down as you might guess. … xX _

'_But why would the ministry want to hunt you down? I know you had abilities that scared them-'_

Just as she was about to write another word, Axel had seeped in her writing and immediately replaced it with his. _Xx … One of our ultimate spells had freaked out the Ministry of course… but what also scared the ministry was because some of us were immortal. … xX_

Hermione raised an eyebrow at this. Voldemort himself was able to live till now by using dozens of dark spells that required countless of victims who had died in the most tragic ways. She then started to realize that maybe the Ministry of Magic was afraid of the Balancers for those who were immortal. Maybe they thought how the Balancers gained immortality was the same by killing others. While the girl was figuring this out, sentences came out of the book.

_Xx … Immortality to what normal wizarding folk think is different actually. It's quite normal to see an immortal in our kind; we're the ones who are chosen to make sure everything goes in balance. Whether we like it or not… it happens. Only a select few who could gain immortality; and even then it's not something that everyone has the strength or will to face with. … xX_

'_Strength or will to face with?'_ Hermione questioned.

_Xx … Seeing your friends, family, things that matter to you fade away and die in front of your eyes. And as for you… you just… have to stand there saying to yourself 'It's gonna be all right' when you know its hell. Some experience huh? … xX_

There was a tinge of sadness that Hermione had felt emitting from the book. It was as though the Balancer was looking at her enviously that she had a shorter life then his. Now she felt rather foolish for thinking how Ron was making her life miserable. Axel on the other hand had gone through something that not anyone could understand with. Then an idea came out in her head.

'_Axel, how long do I need to contact you to get you out?'_

_Xx … What's with the sudden question lady? You've got something cooked, what are you going to do anyway? … xX,_ the book replied indicating its surprise.

'_Get you out silly! Besides, I could use someone to write/talk to who understands me.'_ Hermione added a smiley as she wrote it down.

_Xx … You mean it? For real? It'll take about six months at least and you'd have to contact me everyday, can you sure about that? … xX_

'_Yes.'_

_Xx … How can I ever repay you? … xX_

'_Fight with us against Voldemort; I'm sure you could at least teach me and my friends something with you being a Balancer.'_

_Xx … I can't fight your war for you … xX_

'_Why not?'_

_Xx … It's not for me to interfere. I got rules to stick to. But… there maybe a few things I could to do to help. I can't take part in it myself directly… unless it has to do with the fate of my kind … xX, _Axel explained.

'_I see… Sorry for bringing a personal subject in.' _

_Xx … Nah, don't take it into heart. So how about it brainy girl? Is it a deal? … xX_

'_Deal.'_

Hermione smiled as the book was swarming into different shades of colours as if were happy. Then something appeared onto the page, it was a picture of a young man in his mid-twenties waving at Hermione and giving her a 'thumbs up'. He was clad in black and his hair was long, spiky and red. His face could have been mistaken for a punk but it seemed to fit in with his cool and cocky personality.

_Xx … I'm Axel. At your service brainy girl!_ … xX, the picture gave a peace sign towards the now chuckling girl.

'_That's Hermione from now on.'_ She declared.

_Xx … Okay, okay. I was just kiddin'… no hard feelings right? So anything going on in Hogwarts? … xX_

'_Well, there is a Christmas party with Professor Slughorn.'_

_Xx … Looks like he did become one of the staff in the end. Excelled pretty well when he was a student when he was in Hogwarts. … xX_

'**_You know his school life?' _**

_Xx … All of the staff, really; McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, Flitwick, Dumbledore, Sirius Black; name them and I'll know them. What's a matter? CuRiOuS? … xX_, the picture of Axel was now batting mocking eyelids at the girl.

'_You know, you look a bit off for someone who's lived for more then a couple of centuries.'_ Hermione commented.

_Xx … Just say I'm getting back all that time I've been stuck in this book. It's been AGES I haven't had a decent conversation like this. … xX,_ the picture now looked like Axel was very proud of himself.

'_Okay… let's start with Professor Slughorn!'_ She wrote excitedly.

_Xx … You had just had to start with him? Out off all the staff, it just had to be him? … xX_****

'_Well you were the one who said 'name them' and I only followed your orders.'_

_Xx … You could at least start with someone decent. But what the heck… I shouldn't have challenge this brainy girl anyway … xX_

'_Hey!'_

_Xx … Kidding. You should lower down your temper a bit. So… victim No. 1 is… Slughorn. AKA the king of slugs … xX_

Hermione chuckled as she read what Axel had told her about Professor Slughorn's childhood within the castle walls. For the first time in her life, she didn't regret at all in befriending a book. When in the past it made her far from getting any friends, this time she made a friend without gaining sympathy at first like with Ron or Harry. She was eager to try her best in getting Axel out, and she would do her best.

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_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom_

_End of October_

_Nighttime… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------

It was the time for the Slug party of course; the night which Yugi, Harry, Ryou, and Malik was not looking forward to. No more Quidditch practices to try and cancel out… and no Dumbledore's meetings to avoid the Walrus. Oh yes, they were going to be the spotlight of that Christmas party. Yugi, Ryou and even Malik didn't have a single clue of who to bring along with. In the end they couldn't choose anyone because there were a lot of people who were pleading them to get them to the party. Harry had taken Luna Lovegood with him… As they reached Slughorn's office the sounds of laughter, music and loud conversation were growing louder with every step they took.

----------------------

Whether it had been built that way, or because he (Slughorn) had used magical trickery to make it so, Slughorn's office was much larger than the usual teacher's study. The ceiling and the walls had been draped with emerald, crimson, and gold hangings, so it looked as though it was inside a vast tent. The room was crowded and stuffy and bathed in red light cast by an ornate golden lamp dangling from the center of the ceiling in which real fairies were fluttering, each with a brilliant spec of light. Loud singing accompanied by what sounded like mandolins issued from a distant corner; a haze if pipe smoke hung over several elderly warlocks deep in conversation, and a number of house-elves were negotiating their way squeakily through a forest of knees, obscured by the heavy sliver platters of food they were bearing, so that they looked like little moving roving tables.

–_HP & H-BP, Chapter 15, The Unbreakable Vow, Pg.295, British cover version-_

----------------------

In a flash as Slughorn saw the Chosen One and the Duelists, he grabbed them all into the crowd and introduced them to his finest links. One of them was a biographer and a couple of others who were also famous know people came around them. Harry was lucky enough to make an escape of talking to other people… the three transfers were hounded by the Walrus. It wasn't until later Malfoy who came to the party uninvited interrupted them and a bossy Snape steering the blond boy back to his office. Both Malik and Yugi were in the middle of the crowd so they couldn't follow the potions master. Giving a hint to Ryou they would stall him time, the white haired teen excused himself he was going to the toilet and followed Harry who was also spying as well.

Ryou had reverted into soul form now and was invisible as well airless. For Harry, he had to press his ear to the door… but for Ryou it wasn't a problem. He simply slid his way through the wall to see Snape and Malfoy's conversation.

'Who suspects me?' Malfoy said angrily. 'For the last time, I didn't do it, OK? That Bell girl must've had some enemy no one knows about – don't look at me like that! I know what you're doing, I'm not stupid, but it won't work – I can stop you!'

The thief joined in with his hikari, forming beside him. They both looked at each other at first and listened to the conversation that was on hand.

-((What a lousy liar. Looks like Malfoy was the one who randomly sent that necklace.))- Bakura commented.

-(Snape seems desperate… I wonder why…)-

-((What? You never heard he was under an Unbreakable vow?))-

-(Really? I only heard rumors.)-

"I am trying to help you. I swore to your mother I would protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow, Draco –"

"Looks like you'll have to break it, because I don't need your protection! It's my job, he gave it to me and I'm doing it. I've got a plan and it's going to work, it's just taking a bit longer than I though it would!"

"What is your plan?"

"It's none of you business!"

-(I think he got a job from Voldemort, but what's he saying about something taking a bit longer?)-

Bakura slapped himself on the head, -((You know that Vanishing Cabinet I broke that Malfoy was caring around?))-

-(He's going to use it against us to get Death Eaters here right?)-

-((Exactly. We've only managed to delay him for a year. I couldn't use all my magic to break it then since it'll attract too much attention.))-

The conversation soon ended with Malfoy leaving the room. They both pondered for a moment taking in of what they just heard.

-((We should keep an eye on him… who knows he'll try to kill someone randomly again.))-

-(I… I just don't get the part where Malik has done some sort of spell that that can break the vow. It's called an Unbreakable vow for the reason you can't break it. Seriously, breaking it means you're mental… you would have to die first.)-

Bakura heaved a sigh, -((Hikari, if you paid a lot more attention to your history classes more often you would have known by now.))-

-(What? He'll have to be resurrected from the dead?)-

Bakura whacked his hikari on the head, -((No, baka! That there _isn't_ anything that's 'Unbreakable' or even impossible.))-

Ryou only gazed his yami with a dubious look.

-((Heh… you never fully pay attention do you? Listen, if you're saying there's something 'unbreakable', then you're saying the same thing, as the Titanic is 'unsinkable'. And where is the blasted ship now? On the bottom of the sea floor… and what was proven? Like duh…. It's pretty sinkable…))-

-(So what does the spell do?)-

-((It's an anti spell. Or a reverse spell, whenever the user does a deed… the unbreakable vow becomes weaker. To a point, it'll inflict damage on the one who breaks it… therefore not killing him permanently. It takes a while to get it into that stage though.))-

-(You mean the stage where the vow isn't lethal? How long does it take?)-

-((Who knows? Depends on what Snape does to help Malfoy.))-

-(I wonder why Yami insisted in the first place…)- Ryou wondered.

-((Well… I'm not telling you any more. You got to find it on your own.))- Bakura took over Ryou's body forcibly.

-(Hey! I want to know more!)-

-((We don't have the time Ryou; we'll be on Potter's or even the OotP's suspicion list if we don't move. Plus, I need to report this to the Pharaoh.))-

-----------------------------------------

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Hogwarts Castle, Gryffindor Common Room_

_Beginning of November_

_Morning… (Local Time)_

-----------------------------------------

With the Quidditch match and Slughorn's Christmas party gone, the duelists had become more infamous as ever. Not to mention Yugi who had helped with scoring in the Quidditch match, plus with two havoc beaters of Ryou and Malik to make Gryffindor a one hell of an unbeatable team. Though what really most of the students wanted in Hogwarts was to see the three in a Duel Monsters Tournament. Everyone was on very high alert about seeing special 'letters' that Professor Slughorn had mentioned in his slug party, that there was a tournament being held in a Russian magic school that invited all schools from abroad. Hogwarts, being one of the best wizarding schools was on the top list (according to Slughorn's links) and would let about twenty of its representatives participate for the main preliminaries. Where the transfers fit in they did not know.

It wasn't until a particular morning did Yugi, Ryou and Malik received their invitation to the Duel Monster Tournament. Luckily for the transfers only the sixth years were able to see it since the other years were in lessons. Three ravens had come into the Gryffindor common room with thin feathers. Shay the phoenix was looking at one Raven with mild interest as if trying to befriend them or communicate with them. So Yugi and Atemu like. The other two pets… were pretty hostile looking. Mont the falcon was looking at one of the Ravens thinking as it was its dinner, wanting to kill it and staring in a drooling fashion, much like the psycho's behavior. Apophis on the other hand was already pecking Raven that was twice as tall the black midget, which could be interpreted as a way to catch his master's attention ever since the golden egg laying chicken came into existence. It wasn't odd at all to see the midget black owl being jealous and latched on to Ryou when Ryou was in control of his own body.

Most of the sixth year Gryffindors were now cheering the transfers on in wanting to open the invitation letters. However, if you looked at the faces of Yugi, Ryou and Malik, they seemed to be hesitating whether to open the letter or not… as if the invitation had some sort of detonator wrapped inside that would explode if they had opened it.

"Come on then! Open it!" said Dean Thomas who eagerly looked at the letter if it were some Easter egg.

Seamus was also excited, "You guys sure know how to build up the suspense!"

Parvati Patil was also thrilled to see this event, "I heard that all invitations were from the Prime Minister of their respecting countries right? Hogwarts received one for the Dueling Club from Rufus Scrimgeour. Let's see it."

The three transfers sweat dropped as if they wanted to go on to their lessons without opening the letter. Of course the Hogwarts students were not aware of what the Japanese Prime Minister was like.

-(Do we _have_ to?)- Yugi asked through his mind link.

-(Well, _I_ don't _want_ to.)- Malik said truthfully making an emphasis.

Ryou interrupted, -(But _they_ do; let's give them the honor of opening it.)- the thief's hikari said quickly.

Thinking it was a good idea; the three transfers gave the honor of the sixth years to open the invitation letters together and stood back at a good and safe distance. Everyone surely was happy enough to open it for them. The yamis of course, were now out of their respectful items wanting to watch was going to happen to the invitation letters.

At first glance, the students were disappointed to find the invitations were blank. Nothing was written on it. _But not for long… _

'_SPLASH!'_

There was suddenly gush of red blood that spurted out of the invitations. Some of the students screamed and ran away from the three invitations and dropped it onto the floor. The blood on the floor immediately aligned itself into Japanese letters. Thankfully Malik calmed them down saying it was only red paint. The other students couldn't read it of course, but Yugi had translated it for them.

--------------------

_Letter_

--------------------

Hello my faithful Duelists!

You've been invited to the one and only 'Wizarding World Schools Tournament'! (There was a smiley of a 'grin' that could move after this sentence… the very same people would usually see on a Yahoo messenger). Elite Duelists Malik and Ryou are selected to be the final match up for who ever win the finals. As for the King of Duelists, will be the judge of the final round and of course help in the tutorial round of round of a 2 VS 2 duel. I will wait for you fair arrival! (Pasted with a batting eyelashes smiley). _YOU MUST COME! _

Faithfully waiting,

Masao Shinoda

Japanese Prime Minister for the Japanese Ministry of Magic. (A smiley with black sunglasses and flashing teeth was pasted here)

--------------------

-(What's with the dude and writing messages as if were from a serial killer horror movie? It's like a message from someone who's already dead!)- Malik exclaimed.

-(He didn't have to make it _that_ obvious, or littering the whole floor with red bloody paint!)- Ryou added.

Yugi sweat dropped, -(I knew something like this was coming up. He's a LOT worse and a whole different level then Pegasus when it comes to freak you out.)-

The other students then were pointing at an added text that came into view uncertainly as they were still afraid.

"Nah, he said something about getting ready and all." Yugi lied, though… it didn't seem that Yugi liked the message from the expression on his face. Malik, Ryou, and the yamis read the newly created words on the floor.

--------------------

_Added Note_

--------------------

P.S. If there's _anyone_ who thinks this message is from a dead person, then they have _NO_ sense of humor. (Sticking a tongue out smiley pasted here)

--------------------

The hikaris were on the verge of their veins popping from their heads. (Anime style!)

The yamis were already laughing it out on the floor.

"What kind of Prime Minister would send _bloody_ invitations and expect that to be some kind of joke?" Hermione said disapprovingly.

"Oh don't mind our Prime Minister, he only has an SSoH." Malik bit in.

"SSoH?" Harry asked in confusion.

Ryou scratched his head nervously, "Heh… Meaning, Sick-Sense-of-Humor."

"I'd bet Fred and George would like the invitation card no doubt." Ron said indifferently.

"That's Masao Shinoda for you." Yugi commented. –(Hey, you guys… you're still going to meet him anyway.)- the hikari said to the yamis.

That clamped the yamis laughter up…

-((Do we have to have handshakes with him?))- Bakura groaned.

-((And receive a buzzer shock? No thank you.))- Marik added in quickly.

Yami sighed, -((Why do I have a tiny feeling he's going to make a fool out of us?))-

-((Coz he did before. You remember when he visited the school in Japan with bizarre clothing?))- Marik argued.

-((Face it Pharaoh, I mean who the hell wears the BARNEY costume and _still_ gets respected! The Daily Prophet is going to make a fool out of him in the European wizarding world!))- Bakura exclaimed.

-((Masao Shinoda…))- Yami answered looking as if had a headache.

The transfers were certainly looking forward to the tournament, but seeing their Prime Minister was something that they would want to avoid. They positively couldn't back off from the invitation…

-((Oh Ra help us….))- Marik pleaded.

-((Hey, what's that?))- Bakura looked at the tiny slip of paper that fell to the floor.

Yugi had made a grab for it and kept it hidden from the other students in front of them.

-((It's a quiz.))- Yami stated simply. –((A message.))-

_**MsgaltYiaM1rliovse1pBnuateA.egrletmWWFAriseaor'nh'irr**_

-((Smart. Placing a note hidden in a tournament invitation, huh? You just got to love the OotS. Wizards are bakas when it comes to muggle logic.))- Bakura commented already knowing the intended message from the code.

Marik agreed. -((Looks like we got our own preparations to do is to just preparing our decks.))-

-((We should start on our reports of the school then.))- Yami nodded.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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Summary Chapter:

Memories interesting are they? No, I haven't mentioned how they linked with one another yet…later on in the story…

Four ultimate spells huh? I took some of the names out of videogames so don't sue…

Quidditch scene was fun to do! Poor Hufflepuff commentator…

Axel was Hogwarts teacher! And a bit of Hermione's feelings…

And yeah, nothing is unbreakable! Or is impossible… it just takes a slow time to process…

That's right, our Japanese Prime Minister for the Japanese Ministry of Magic has some sick sense of humor… what other sick things he could do? Don't know myself though… What's on that quiz? You work it out! Refer to chapter 11… it's something that's gonna happen in the next chapter! Take a good guess… (grins)

Phew! Another lengthy chapter… Done! I can't believe I wrote a lot of emotion shifting in the chapter… phew… that's over… next chapter would be my biggest challenge yet… a tournament… (Whistles low) has anyone actually gone to an YGO tournament before? May I have your interview? Or any other tournaments in card trading? Please share the experience if you have and I might get it into the fic. I know people have suddenly been pointing out of Malik's past to me, to tell you the truth I'm saving it for later. Makes it more curious no?

Plus…

I'm trying to find cards statuses of strong and weak monsters or even trap or magic cards that do exist and people do own them … so…

**For the next chapter I'm offering to ALL my reviewers to get a chance to have their favorite card from their own decks to make an appearance! That's right, YOUR FAV duel monster/trap/magic/ritual card and from YOUR DECK in my fic (just one, max 2)! Weak or strong, it doesn't matter… When you review just post it in this way: **

_**For Monster Cards:**_

Name: (DM name)  
Stars: (How many stars does it have?)  
ATK/DEF: (X000/X000)  
Type: (Element/what type of card (normal/ritual monster/effect))  
Family: (Spellcaster/dragon/fiend/etc.)  
Effect: (explain effects if it has any or what it says on the card.)  
Description: (What does your DM look like?)

_**For Trap/Magic/Ritual(quick summoning) Cards:**_

Name: (the card's name)  
Type 1: (Trap/Magic/ritual)  
Type 2: (permanent/continuous/instant/normal)  
Effect: (what does the card do?)  
Description: (What does the trap/magic/ritual look like?)

**What are you waiting for? Click that button down there if you want to see your fav card in action in the next chapter! Hehehehe….**

Is anyone up for more _quality_ crossover fics? I made one more! You could say that was one of my reasons for the delay of this chapter. So actual fact was… I updated 2 fics at once… (sweat drops)… I'm working too hard… Hopefully this chapter paid off… T.T … I really need a boost… The new fic is called, 'The Leaf that Found its Way' …a Naruto x LotR fic. Kakashi Hatake is the main character of this fic; it's lengthy but not as this YGO fic. I plan to make it a great fic though. So if you happen to like LotR or Naruto… try checking it out! I'll be really grateful! Hopefully they turn out well like this fic!

**THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED! (Huge hugs to everyone!)**

**This fic has officially reached 100,000+ words! Woo hoo! No AU Notes included!**

**11,000+ HITS ON THIS FIC! THANK YOU AGAIN! (Gives YGO character(s) plushies to everyone)**

**Credits for two of my new Betas: to Seithr-Kairy for helping me getting ideas for the Quidditch match plus the encouragement I need for this chapter and a HUGE thanks to Shadow-Huntress-Mage for helping me edit this chapter!**

**PS: I'm still looking for Betas for spelling & grammar mistakes plus ideas (like another two more people). Send me a message if you think you are capable and wanting the job!**

Next on HP, HBP, and the OotS…

A small dueling tournament begins…

We'll meet the Japanese Prime Minister from the Ministry of Magic in Japan…

AND _our REAL villain is finally revealed…_Can you guess who our real villain _is_?

The next chapter:

_**Chapter 14: 'The Dominion.'**_

_**Update 13/10/2006: The code is only missing an 'i' (thanks to Seithr-Kairy for mentioning this!) But overall it's correct. I decoded it over and over, so it's been fixed and waiting to be solved... **_


End file.
